(UW ATHLETICS) LOS ANGELES – The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team had three players with double-figure kills as they took down UCLA 20-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-15 on Saturday night.
UW hit .402 (59 kills – 8 errors – 127 attempts) as Sarah Franklin led the way with 19 kills. Anna Smrek added 16, while Julia Orzol finished with 11 kills.
UCLA’s Cheridyn Leverette notched a match-high 20 kills as the Bruins hit .192 (48 – 23 – 130) on the night.
Wisconsin’s Gulce Guctekin and Lola Schumacher were both out with injuries, Saige Damrow got the starting nod at libero and Maile Chan took over the DS position.
In set one, the teams went back and forth with eight ties, but it was at the 14-all mark that UCLA (12-13, 6-10 B1G) separated itself from UW (20-5, 14-2 B1G) with a 4-1 run, as the Badgers called a timeout trailing 15-18. Out of the break, middle blocker Anna Dodson tallied back-to-back solo blocks to force another quick Wisconsin timeout at 15-20. The Badgers brought it back within three as they trailed 19-22 and the Bruins called a timeout, but it was too little too late as UCLA took set one 25-20.
Wisconsin got back on track in set two. A 6-1 run from the Badgers boosted them to a 10-6 lead. UCLA called a timeout to regather as they trailed 6-10. Out of the break, the Bruins tied it up at 10-all but were unable to take the lead. Wisconsin didn’t let them stick around for long as Charlie Fuerbringer tallied two aces to give UW a 14-10 lead. Leverette scored back-to-back kills to the score at 14-12 in favor of Wisconsin. From there, Wisconsin finished on an 11-3 run to take set two 25-15.
The Badgers and Bruins battled early in the third set. UCLA led by as many as three at 12-9 before the Badgers tallied five kills in a row to go ahead 14-12. UCLA tied it back up at 16, but once again was unable to take the lead. They went point for point, but a seven-kill set from Anna Smrek helped lead UW to the 25-22 set three victory.
In the final set, Wisconsin jumped out to a 4-1 lead and continued to build on it’s lead. UCLA called a timeout after a block from Smrek and Carter Booth to put UW ahead 11-6. The Badgers built an 18-11 lead, prompting a UCLA timeout, but the deficit was too large as UW took the final set 25-15.
Fuerbringer tallied 47 assists on the night, to pair with her two service aces. The Badgers had four aces total with Orzol and Damrow each adding one.
Damrow led the team with a career-high 15 digs. Orzol added 12 to finish with a double-double on the night.
Despite getting outblocked in the first set, UW ended up on top in the block column (12.0-5.0) with Booth tallying five.
Notes to know
- Anna Smrek hit a season-best .609. She had 16 kills with just two errors on 23 attempts.
- Redshirt freshman Saige Damrow started in the libero jersey for the Badgers tonight. She recorded a career-best 15 digs.
- Freshman Maile Chan set a career-best six digs tonight against UCLA.
- For the 23rd match, outside hitter Sarah Franklin reached double-figure kills. Franklin tallied 19 kills.
- For the 16th time this season, the Badgers hit .300 or better. The Badgers put up a .402 hitting percentage (59 kills – 8 errors – 127 attempts).
- Wisconsin had 17 service errors, tying a season-high since Louisville on August 27th.
- Senior Julia Orzol recorded her 12th career double-double and second of the season with 11 kills, 12 dig performance.
Up next
The Badgers welcome No. 16 Minnesota to the UW FIeld House on Wednesday night. First serve is set for 8 p.m.
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