(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – Eight blocks in the second set, led the Badgers to a NCAA First Round sweep against Jackson State, 25-18, 25-9, 25-18, in the Field House on Thursday night.
Wisconsin (27-3) jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, but Jackson State (17-13) responded with a run to bring it within one (6-7). CC Crawford and the Badgers went on a 5-0 run that put it out of reach for the Tigers and gave UW a 19-13 lead. From there, they carried their momentum to the finish, to lift the Badgers to 25-18 first set victory.
Eight blocks in the second set alone led the Badgers to a dominant 25-9 win. Out of the gate the Badgers racked tallied the first block in the first set and established the tone. Eleven points later, Devyn Robinson and Carter Booth collaborated on a block to kick-off three blocks in a row, including a solo block from Booth. Wisconsin continued to push and forced a Jackson State timeout at 17-4. The Tigers sided out after the timeout, but Wisconsin terminated six more kills to finish the set.
After an evenly matched start to the final set, Jackson State put down back-to-back kills to make it a two-point game (9-11). The Badgers pulled ahead with four-straight kills including two kills in a row from Anna Smrek. UW continued to pull away, and a kill from Sarah Franklin gave Wisconsin a 25-18 victory.
Big Ten Player of the Year Franklin led the Badgers with 12 kills, and Temi Thomas-Ailara added 10 kills for her second match in a row with double figure kills. Wisconsin hit a new season-high .488 (46 kills – 6 errors – 82 attempts).
Jackson State was led by opposite Hope Briggs, as she finished the match with six kills. The Tigers hit .064 (25 – 20 – 78).
Wisconsin outblocked Jackson State, 11.5 to 4.0. Booth finished with seven total blocks, and Smrek added six.
Libero Julia Orzol finished with a match-high 11 kills. MJ Hammill and Izzy Ashburn put up 25 and 15 assists, respectively.
Gulce Guetekin recorded two service aces, and as a team UW tallied five.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield On the match: “There was more to like than not to like, early on, I thought maybe we were a little bit jittery coming out, which can be typical for a first match in the tournament. We were expecting balls to come to us rather than us going and getting the ball, whether from a server’s standpoint or defensively in the back row. Then we got a better feel for their pace. The servings were coming at us at a different speed. Early on, we were a little bit antsy, making it move one way and then having to recover and go the other way, and those are usually problems once you start doing that. But we did a really good job of finding our rhythm. Our serving got a little bit sloppy there toward the end, but I felt like the team got better as the match went on. Lots of positives.”Middle blocker Carter Booth On blocking in the second set: “I think that first of all, we’re starting very aggressively and getting that ball in a lot, which was getting them out of system a little bit more. We had time to get over the net and be pressed early so that we were getting good touches on the ball if we weren’t stuffing it straight down. I think that we also went on a couple of runs there and they were trying a bunch of different things and I think we did a good job of communicating with each other and making sure we’re having eyes on what’s gonna happen next, what we think is gonna happen. So, I think that our anticipation got better as we went on.So those are just some of the reasons that you’re more successful in the second set with our blocking.”Opposite Devyn RobinsonOn the offense being strong across the board: “I guess one word that comes to mind is proud. We’re not just heated on one player, we have such a wide variety of people who can put the ball in. You have Temi stepping up, you have Anna stepping up, you have CC and Carter , like we’re all driving for the ball. I think that’s just what makes us really special and I’m just proud of this team because we’ve been working on it all season.
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