(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – In front of a fired up UW Field House, the No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team beat Penn State 25-11, 28-30, 25-12, 25-18, on Thursday night.
It was all tied up at 3-3, until a kill from Carter Booth kicked off a 5-0 run from the Badgers (29-3) and forced an early Penn State (23-9) timeout to start the first set. The Nittany Lions sided out after the timeout, and the two teams traded points back and forth to make it 11-7 in favor of the Badgers. A quick UW 3-0 run was halted by a kill from Hannah Camryn. However, Wisconsin responded with a 10-1 run including back-to-back blocks from Booth and Devyn Robinson to give the Badgers a 21-8 advantage. From there the Badgers closed it out on a kill from Temi Thomas-Ailara, taking the first set 25-11.
After the Badgers ran away with set one, Penn State came out in set two with more intensity. Wisconsin grabbed the lead from the jump, but Penn State remained in striking distance until they were able to tie it up at 17-all. A kill by Robinson gave UW a set point, but Penn State sided out. Once again, Wisconsin earned another set point but Penn State put a stop to it. The Badgers then fought off four set points after running out of subs before Penn State took the second set 30-28.
Wisconsin came out of the break strong and grabbed a quick 4-0 lead. Penn State battled back to bring it within one, at 8-7. A few points later, a 12-serve run from MJ Hammill gave Wisconsin a 20-8 lead, which propelled them to a 25-12 third set victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Once again, it was tight to begin the fourth set, but a serving run for UW put them in control with a commanding 18-7 lead. This time it was Gulce Guctekin behind the line, backed by three Badger blocks, including a solo block from CC Crawford. Penn State called a timeout to stop the run, and they slowly started to chip away and got it within seven (21-14). Robinson responded immediately with her 10th kill of the night. Wisconsin allowed the Nittany Lions just three more points, and the Badgers won the set and match, 25-18.
Wisconsin led a balanced offensive attack, with four hitters in double figures. Sarah Franklin led the way with 15 kills. Franklin’s partner on the outside, Thomas-Ailara, added 11 kills, while Robinson and Booth each tallied 10 kills. Wisconsin finished the match with a clip of .268 (56 kills – 16 errors – 149 attempts).
Penn State was led by outside hitter Jess Mruzik, as she shared match-high honors with 15 kills. The Nittany Lions hit .082 (48 – 35 – 159).
Wisconsin dominated on the block with 17 team blocks, compared to Penn State’s four. Crawford put down 10 total blocks, as Booth followed with seven. Robinson and Smrek also recorded five apiece.
Libero Julia Orzol posted a match-high 16 digs, and her partner in the back row, Guctekin, added 14.
Izzy Ashburn put up 22 assists, as Hammill paired 20 assists with 14 digs for her ninth double-double of the season
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