(UW COMMUNICATIONS) WACO, TX – Picking up their first victory of the season with a gritty comeback win, the No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team beat TCU 25-15, 27-29, 21-25, 25-16, 15-11, in the first match of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Friday evening.
Leading the way offensively for the Badgers (1-3), tallying 18 kills was Sarah Franklin. Not far behind was her co-captain, Devyn Robinson putting down 17 kills. As a team, UW hit .266 (69 kills – 24 errors – 169 attempts).
TCU’s Outside hitter Melanie Parra recorded a match-high 21 kills and added 16 digs for the double-double. The Horned Frogs (1-2) finished the night hitting .216 (55 – 18 – 171).
With a kill from Julia Orzol, followed by a block from CC Crawford, the Badgers established an 8-4 lead in set one. TCU scored one off a kill from outside hitter Melanie Parra, but Wisconsin responded with three straight points including an ace from Orzol, taking an 11-5 lead. The Horned Frogs brought it back within three, putting together a quick run to make it 11-8. But, a kill from Crawford started a 6-2 run for the Badgers. Wisconsin closed out strong from there, including three straight kills to end the set, winning set one 25-15.
The Horned Frogs came out firing in the second set, as they took command early with a 7-4 lead. Wisconsin dug their way back in, to tie it a 7-all. The two teams traded off ties and lead changes. It wasn’t until the 22-20 mark that either team was able to earn as much as a two point lead, but Wisconsin surged ahead from a kill from Robinson and an attack error from TCU. The Badgers fought off four set TCU set points, however it was the Horned Frogs who strung together two points in a row to win set two 29-27.
TCU carried over their momentum from the previous set, as the Badgers struggled to find their footing. In an attempt to change the pace, Sheffield turned to graduate setter Carly Anderson to step in as they switched to a 6-2 with Anderson and Anna Smrek along with Charlie Fuerbringer and Robinson. As TCU led 18-13, UW switched back to a 5-1 with Fuerbringer leading the offense. From there, the Badgers rallied to bring it within one (21-22). But TCU scored three straight points to win 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Similar to what we saw in set one, the Badgers were firing on all cylinders in a must-woin set four. Sheffield switched in freshman Lola Schumacher at libero and Gulce Guctekin transitioned to DS. The teams battled back and forth until the Badgers surged ahead with a 4-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. Back-to-back kills from Crawford and Franklin forced a TCU timeout as UW led 19-12. The Badgers only allowed four more TCU points and closed out the fourth set convincingly, 25-16.
Charlie Fuerbringer stepped up behind the service line and ran four-straight serves, including an ace, as the race to 15 points began in set five with an early timeout from the Horned Frogs. TCU trailed by two (6-4), as Gucktekin added two more aces and forced a second TCU timeout at 9-4. Despite a small push from TCU, UW closed out set five 15-11.
Serving error woes continued as the Badgers tallied 11 service errors, but added seven aces, with two aces each from Fuerbringer and Guctekin. Schumacher and Orzol both recorded 15 digs. Fuerbringer added 12 digs to complement her 44 assists for her second double-double of the season.
UW outblocked TCU 9.0 – 4.0, as Robinson topped the charts with 5.0 total blocks.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
On getting the first win of the season: “We didn’t give up on ourselves as players. I think there was a lot of frustration with not being able to close out that second set and then a lot of hitting errors in the third set and a lot of service errors in the second set. I thought we played really clean, really good volleyball the first, fourth and fifth set. We’ve got the ability to do some different things and figure things out as we’re going.”
Middle blocker CC Crawford
On getting the first win: “I think we are all happy and excited with how we fought but not satisfied.”
On Charlie’s 4-0 run in the fifth set: “She was fearless behind the service line. So proud of her. As a freshman stepping into set five, her first set five and just going back there and executing serve, I’m super excited for her.”
Notes to know
- Four Badgers, Julia Orzol (15), Charlie Furerbringer (12), Gulce Guctekin (14), and Lola Schumacher (15), recorded double-digit digs with Orzol and Schumacher leading the way with 15.
- For a second match in a row, freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer tallied double-double. Fuebringer totaled 43 assists,12 digs.
- A total of three Badgers tallied double-digit kills, Devyn Robinson (17), Sarah Franklin (18), and Caroline Crawford (12).
- Crawford hit a season-high 12 kills while committing just two errors on 25 swings for a .400 hitting percentage.
Up next
The Badgers will be back in action on Saturday night to take on No. 23 Baylor in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+.
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