The No. 2 ranked University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team continued their great start to the season, improving to 21-1 with a 3–1 win versus No. 19 ranked Purdue University.
UW came out strong in the first set, led by multiple contributors. The action started with a spike by middle blocker Carter Booth and an ace from libero Julia Orzol. Two consecutive kills by outside hitter Anna Smrek and three consecutive spikes by last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week — outside hitter Sarah Franklin — helped expand the Badgers’ lead to 11–6. Two aces by libero Gulce Guctekin and a powerful spike by outside hitter Devyn Robinson helped the Badgers secure the first set 25–14.
After a solid first set for UW, the second set was all Boilermakers. An impressive eight kills by Purdue’s Eva Hudson paired with some sloppy play from Wisconsin — which saw them commit 10 attack errors and two service errors — resulted in Purdue never trailing during this set. The Boilermakers won the set 25–16 to even the match 1–1.
The third set started much better for UW with Franklin’s three early kills and a block, helping the Badgers gain an 8–5 lead. Purdue bounced back though and tied the match 8–8 off an ace and another service error by Wisconsin. The set remained close, but the Badgers extended their lead to 18–13 after kills by outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara, Booth, Smrek and a block by Robinson. A spike by Smrek secured the third set 25–18 for the Badgers.
Volleyball: Wisconsin showcases prowess on national television, sweeps Minnesota
Wisconsin was dominant again in the fourth and final set. Three more kills from Franklin helped the Badgers jump out to a 13–6 lead which they never gave up. Wisconsin was able to hold Purdue to a .044 hitting percentage during the final set and secured the match off of another kill by Franklin.
Franklin had a team-high 22 kills, her second consecutive 20-kill performance. Setter Izzy Ashburn finished with 27 assists followed by setter MJ Hammill with 17. Booth led the Badgers with 7 blocks.
“I thought we responded out of the second set really well,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said regarding his team’s performance. “I told them we lost our physicality in the second set, which is not something that happens to us very much. We were in total control of that first set and let our foot off the gas, which can be human nature that athletes are trying to fight against.”
The Badgers hope to finish their three-game home stand strong Saturday, Nov. 4 versus the University of Illinois before their upcoming four-game road trip.
