The No. 1 ranked University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team’s flawless record extended to a 12-game winning streak to start the season — continuing Wednesday night with a dominant 3-0 sweep versus Ohio State. This is the third straight 3-0 sweep for the UW volleyball team, who led the Big Ten in kills per set, assists and hitting percentage coming into the match.
With this win, the Badgers tied their program record with 21 straight Big Ten conference wins. They hope to continue their winning tradition, which head coach Kelly Sheffield has helped to shape over the past decade and make another national championship run this season.
Junior Anna Smrek’s four kills in the first set helped UW get off to an excellent start. The Badgers never trailed during the first set and an errant hit from the Buckeyes clinched the set by a score of 25-19 for the red and white. In the second set, Ohio State started strong, gaining a 13-8 lead. The Badgers came storming back – winning six straight points, including three kills by Temi Thomas-Ailara. Tied at 17 apiece, UW senior Devyn Robinson helped her team pull away with a momentum-grabbing spike.
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Ohio’s Mia Tuman helped close out the set which the Badgers won 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead. The third and final set started close, being tied 10-9 after 19 points.
But, the Badgers’ experience and consistency as a unit shined during this set. With their roster consisting of 11 upperclassmen and 12 returners, they once again were able to pull ahead and win the match 25-18 with another kill by Robinson.
Sarah Franklin had a team-high 11 kills and hit 0.429 with Thomas-Ailara and Smrek close behind with 10 and eight kills respectively.
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Ohio State entered the match as a quality opponent and tough road test for UW, as the Buckeyes were ranked at No. 22 at the start of the week, according to the NCAA Women’s Volleyball rankings update.
The Badgers rematch against the Buckeyes Oct. 18, and look to stay undefeated and break the school record with 22 straight Big Ten wins in their upcoming match versus the University of Michigan Oct. 1.
