(UW COMMUNICATIONS) MADISON – In front of 15,084 fans, the No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team routed Marquette 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22 at the Kohl Center on Tuesday night.
Outside hitter Sarah Franklin set a new program record for most kills in a single match with 33 kilss. The record was previously held by Dana Rettke set in 2018. Franklin hit .517 (33 kills – 2 errors – 60 attempts) on the night. Additionally, on her fifth kill of the night, the outside recorded her 1,500 career kill.
As a team, UW (4-3) hit .355 (68 – 13 -155). Adding to the offensive firepower, Anna Smrek tallied a season-high 15 kills and Julia Orzol rounded out double digit kills with 10.
The Golden Eagles hit .233 (54 – 17 – 159), as Carsen Murray led the team with 12 kills.
It was a game of runs to start off the match, as Marquette (3-4) jumped out to a 4-1 lead. But Wisconsin responded with an ace and two kills to tie it up at four-all. The teams traded points until the Golden Eagles scored back-to-back kills heading into the media timeout up 15-11. Out of the timeout, the Badgers ran four points in a row to even it up at 15. Fueled by three Badger kills, including Sarah Franklin’s 1,500 career kill, Wisconsin took a 19-17 lead. Marquette went on a 6-1 run to clinch the first set, 25-22.
Wisconsin took control of the second set early, as two kills from Franklin doubled Marquette’s score (8-4). The Golden Eagles rallied back to bring it within one, as the Badgers led 15-14. Julia Orzol put down back-to-back kills to force a Marquette timeout, trailing 20-16. UW tallied five kills to take the second set 25-20.
Gulce Guctekin stepped up behind the service line and ran nine-straight serves to give the Badgers a 22-14 lead in the third set. Within the service run, Franklin tallied five kills, and the Badgers put down three blocks. Prior to that run, the teams were battling back-and-forth and exchanging six ties and five lead changes. UW allowed the Golden Eagles just two additional points, as Wisconsin closed the third set 25-16.
To cap off her career night, Franklin recorded 12 kills in the final set. Marquette held onto a lead until an 8-1 run from the Badgers derailed their lead. A Marquette block inched them within two, but none other than Sarah Franklin responded with three kills in a row, followed by a service ace from Guctekin. The energy from the Kohl Center carried the Badgers to the finish as they won the set, and match, 25-22.
With starting setter Charlie Fuerbringer out with an injury, graduate student Carly Anderson led the offense tonight. The setter put up 51 assists and 11 digs for a double-double.
The Badgers tallied five service aces, Guctekin had two of her own. Complementing her 10 kills, Orzol added 16 digs for a double-double. Schumacher led the team with 22 digs.
The Badgers outblocked the Golden Eagles 9.0 – 5.0, as Smrek led the charge with six blocks.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
On playing against Marquette: “When you play Marquette, they’re going to extend rallies and they’re gonna play really hard and you’ve got to be willing to get in the middle and wrestle a little bit and be alright with long rallies and be able to fight and scrap. I thought our team did a really good job with that.”
On Carly as starting setter: “I thought there were an awful lot of positives to come from the match. First of all, it’s why we brought Carly in. She’s probably one of the most experienced setters in the country going into her fifth year”
Senior Anna Smrek
On adversity: “One of the greatest strengths of our team is that we can have a lot of different looks on the court. I think one of the greatest strengths as well, as we go through adversity, last minute things like being able to step up with Carly and attackers having her back. We work together and it’s going to be a strength in the end.”
Graduate student Carly Anderson
On her mindset after being put in the lineup last second: “I think today, finding out that I was going to play, a big goal of mine this whole season is to do my role and do what I can for my team. Every day, that’s going to look a bit different, and that’s just my role. It’s the same mindset because today they needed me on the court, and I’m glad that I could play that role. But, every day it will be different, and I’m going to do my best to play that role every day.”
On Sarah Franklin’s performance tonight
“Sarah makes the game so easy for a setter and for her whole team. You saw that throughout the whole match, but especially at the end. You can give her the ball, and she’s going to score no matter what kind of ball it is, and that’s some crazy game. Everyone had my back throughout the whole match, but she especially did. She’s awesome.”
Freshman Lola Schumacher
On the team’s defensive contributions tonight
“I would definitely say that GG, Oz, Frank and I, tried to have a connection and almost had that one heartbeat. I think that having the mentality that no ball is going to hit this floor, period. One thing that we really think about is that we don’t go through a match, but we try to grow through a match, and I think that’s super important for us not only in the back row but in the front row and off the court as well. Being as small as us we can’t really score points for our team, but we can provide better opportunities for our front-row hitters. I think that we know our role, and we just have to do it to the best of our ability.”
Notes to know
- Fifth year outside hitter, Sarah Franklin moves up to fifth all-time in program history on the career kills list at 1528. She surpasses Arlisa Hagan who finished with 1495. Sherise Livingston sits atop at 1912.
- Franklin set a program record for most kills in four sets, with 33 kills, surpassing Dana Rettke in 2018 against Minnesota. She also recorded her fourth 20+ kill match of the season and hit a season best .517 (33-2-60).
- The Badgers hit .355 (68-13-155) for its best hitting percentage so far this season.
- Senior Julia Orzol recorded her second-straight double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs.
- Freshman libero Lola Schumacher tallied 22 digs. The second time in this season she’s recorded 20+ digs.
- In her first start for the Badgers, graduate Carly Anderson had 51 assists and 11 digs.
- Senior Anna Smrek hit a season best with 15 kills (15-3-29), and six blocks.
Up next
The Badgers will return to the Field House this weekend for two matches against Troy and Texas A&M. The matchup against Troy is set for 7 pm on Friday night and will be aired on B1G+. Saturday night, Wisconsin welcomes Texas A&M at 7 pm and will be televised on BTN.
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