(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON, Wis. – After winning the first two sets, the No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team held off a surge from Ohio State to take the five-set thriller 25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 24-26, 15-12 on Wednesday night.
Sarah Franklin notched a conference season high with 25 kills, as the team hit .261 (72 kills – 26 errors – 176 attempts) on the night. Anna Smrek and Carter Booth both added 11 kills, while Julia Orzol rounded out double figure kills with 10.
Ohio State hit .201 (62 – 28 – 169) on the night, as Grace Egan finished with 22 kills.
Charlie Fuerbringer recorded a new career-high with 59 assists, while she was just one dig shy of a double-double. Although Lola Schumacher was back in the lineup tonight, she stepped into the starting defensive specialist role as Saige Damrow remained at libero. Damrow led the team with 21 digs, and Schumacher added 10.
The Badgers (22-6, 15-3 B1G) and Buckeyes (14-15, 7-12 B1G) went back and forth in the first set with 12 ties and six lead changes. Ohio State created some distance with a 4-0 run to take a 16-12 lead. But the Badgers responded with a 4-0 run of their own, including a service ace from Schumacher. The Badgers kept chipping away to eventually tie it up at 19-all. The Buckeyes regained the lead with a kill from Emily Londot, but followed that with back-to-back errors to give UW a 21-20 lead and prompt a Buckeye timeout. Out of the break, OSU ran three-straight points as Wisconsin called a timeout trailing 21-23. The Badgers tied it right back up (23-23) with two-straight points as OSU called a timeout. Wisconsin scored the next two points to win it 25-23.
After all of the ties and lead changes in set one, Wisconsin set the tone in set two, getting out to a 13-6 lead. The Badgers maintained a steady lead throughout the set, as OSU only got as close as five points. UW took set two 25-14.
Charlie Fuerbringer started set three with an ace, but after that the Buckeyes went on a 5-1 run and extended their lead to 7-3 to force a UW timeout. The Badgers brought it back within three (12-9) but OSU shut that down quickly. OSU strung together a 5-0 run to snag a nine-point lead (21-12). The Badgers didn’t back down and came back on an 8-2 run to force an OSU timeout as UW trailed 20-23. Ohio State closed it out 25-21.
Set four went back and forth as the teams traded runs. OSU held a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout. Sarah Franklin and Grace Egan went kill-for-kill to push the Buckeyes ahead 19-16 to prompt a Wisconsin timeout. Wisconsin came right back with a 5-1 run including a service ace from Damrow, three kills and a block to give Wisconsin a 21-20 lead. After the Badgers earned match point thanks to a kill from Fuerbringer, OSU scored the final three points to win it 26-24.
In the final set, it was all tied up five apiece before Wisconsin pushed ahead 9-5 as Ohio State called a timeout to regroup. Rylee Rader for the Buckeyes scored back-to-back kills to bring it back within two (12-10) but Franklin and CC Crawford put down two kills to set up match point. OSU held off one match point before Wisconsin sealed the deal with a block from Devyn Robinson and Orzol to win it 15-12.
Serving woes continued to the Badgers, as they racked up nine service errors on the night, but added five aces. UW outblocked OSU 10.0-8.0, with Smrek leading the way with five blocks.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
On the overall match: “I thought that was just a great Big Ten match. Two teams going at it, and battling and fighting, and it’s both teams just being hard nosed and tough. I thought we had a tough time with a couple of their hitters.”
On determination: “Really proud of the efforts that our team played with tonight and you know, I thought there was a lot of grittiness on display for the players.”
Right side Anna Smrek
On having a good mindset in the fifth set
“I would say the biggest thing I specifically tell myself is that it’s equal. The playing field is leveled out. It’s like a brand new game, almost. You’re trying to get to 15, first to eight. You have to let go of the past and any errors — it’s a a new set. You’ve just got to go for it.”
Outside Julia Orzol
On having her parents in town from Poland to see her play
“It’s so cool because they’ve been a part of it for four years. They hear all of the stories since every day we have a chance to talk. For them to put an image to all of the faces and this place, that’s the biggest thing.”
Middle blocker CC Crawford
On having experienced players in five-set matches
“I think experience helps. I think when you get to those five set matches, just taking it point by point because you’re playing amazing teams, you’re going to get their swings and we’re going to get ours.”
Notes to know
- For the 17th time this season, Wisconsin reached double-figure blocks. Wisconsin outblocked the Buckeyes 10.0-8.0.
- Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer tallied 59 total assists and neared a double-double with nine digs. The 59 assists marks the most assists in a five-set match this season.
- Outside hitter Sarah Franklin recorded 25 kills tonight against Ohio State. This marks the sixth match where she tallied 20 or more kills in a match this season, and 26th match with double-figure kills.
- Libero Saige Damrow tied a career-best 21 digs. She accomplished the same feat on Nov. 20 against Minnesota.
- Freshman Lola Schumacher returned to action after missing the last three matches due to injury. Schumacher served as a defensive specialist.
- Wisconsin improves to 4-0 in five-set matches.
Up next
The Badgers will conclude regular season play on Saturday night against Michigan State on the Big Ten Network. The match is set to begin at 8 p.m. with senior night celebrations to follow.
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