The University of Wisconsin volleyball team defeated Big Ten rivals Penn State University 3–1 Thursday night to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
UW came out strong and were dominant in the first set. An early 5–0 run led by two kills apiece by middle blocker Carter Booth and outside hitter Devyn Robinson saw the Badgers gain an 8–3 lead that they never gave up. Booth’s three blocks and four total kills helped UW secure the first set easily — winning 25–11.
The second set initially looked like it was going to be much the same. Robinson and outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara had three and two kills respectively, which helped the Badgers jump out to a quick 15–11 lead.
This time, Penn State would answer back by going on an 11–4 run to gain their first lead of the match at 22–19. With the Nittany Lions seeming to have all of the momentum, a kill by outside hitter Sarah Franklin ignited UW who then went on their own 6–2 run to regain the lead.
The Badgers were able to bring the set to match point multiple times but every time, Penn State continued to fight back. Two kills by Penn State eventually won them the set 30–28.
Similar to the second set, the Badgers came out strong and secured a quick 4–0 lead in the third set before the Nittany Lions rallied back to get the score within one to cut UW’s lead to 8–7.
Despite this, the Badgers answered back big time. A miraculous 12–0 run fueled by setter MJ Hammill’s serving and Thomas-Ailara’s three kills gave the Badgers an insurmountable 20–7 lead. A block by UW secured the set at 25–12.
The Badgers once again jumped out to an 8–7 lead in the final set, and once again went on a miraculous streak. An ace by libero Gulce Guctekin started a 10–0 run for the Badgers, which saw them gain a huge 18–7 lead which they would never give up. A kill by middle blocker Caroline Crawford secured the match for Wisconsin — winning the match in four sets with a 25–18 final score in set four.
Volleyball: Wisconsin advances to Sweet 16 behind Smrek’s 15 kills
“First of all, congratulations on a great season for Penn State. The talent, the competitiveness, the experience on their side of the net. The history of the program, it’s a big win for us,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said after the match in a post-game press conference. “I thought our serving set up an awful lot tonight. Our servers went back there and were executing the game plan and I thought defensively we were awfully good and we had good ball control from our setters. They were getting the ball to the areas we wanted them to. They did a really good job of keeping the offense balanced. So we’re excited to still be playing and the Field House environment was rocking tonight and we certainly appreciate the support.”
Franklin led the Badgers with 15 kills followed by Thomas-Ailara with 11. Setter Izzy Ashburn secured a team-high 22 assists and libero Julia Orzol’s 16 digs lead the Badgers. UW wound up out-blocking Penn State 17–4 on the night, led by 10 blocks from Crawford.
UW will play the University of Oregon tonight at the UW Field House at 7 p.m. — hoping to punch their ticket to Tampa, Florida for the Final Four where the NCAA semifinals and finals will be played.
