Badgers clip the wings of golden eagles

MADISON, Wis. — In front of 15,084 fans, the No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team defeated Marquette 22-25, 25-20, 25-16 and 25-22 at the Kohl Center on Tuesday night.

Outside attacker Sarah Franklin set a new program record for most kills in a single match with 33 kills. The record was previously held by Dana Rettke and set in 2018. Franklin hit .517 on the night (33 kills – 2 errors – 60 attempts). In addition, she recorded her 1,500th career kill with her fifth kill of the night.

As a team, UW (4-3) achieved a batting average of .355 (68 – 13 -155). In addition to the offensive power Anna Smrek scored 15 kills, the highest number of the season, and Julia Orzol The double-digit number of kills was rounded down to 10.

The Golden Eagles hit .233 (54-17-159), with Carsen Murray leading the team with 12 kills.

The game started with runs being the order of the day, and Marquette (3-4) took a 4-1 lead. But Wisconsin responded with an ace and two kills to tie the game at 4-4. The teams traded points until the Golden Eagles scored two straight kills to go into the media timeout with a 15-11 lead. After the timeout, the Badgers scored four straight points to tie the game at 15-15. Fueled by three kills from the Badgers, including Sarah Franklin's Wisconsin, with 1,500 career kills, took a 19-17 lead. Marquette went on a 6-1 run to take the first set 25-22.

Wisconsin took control of the second set early when two kills from Franklin doubled Marquette's score (8-4). The Golden Eagles fought back and narrowed the gap to one point, giving the Badgers a 15-14 lead. Julia Orzol made two kills in a row to force a timeout for Marquette when they were down 20-16. UW made five kills to win the second set 25-20.

Gulce Güntekin stepped behind the service line and made nine consecutive serves to give the Badgers a 22-14 lead in the third set. During the service run, Franklin had five kills and the Badgers made three blocks. Before that run, the teams battled back and forth, exchanging six ties and five lead changes. UW allowed the Golden Eagles just two extra points, so Wisconsin closed the third set 25-16.

To cap off her career night, Franklin had 12 kills in the final set. Marquette held the lead until an 8-1 run by the Badgers wiped out their lead. A block by Marquette brought them within two points, but none other than Sarah Franklin responded with three straight kills, followed by a service ace from Guctekin. The energy from the Kohl Center carried the Badgers to the end, as they won the set and the game 25-22.

With starting stand Charlie Fuerbringer absent due to injury, doctoral student Carly Anderson led the offense tonight. The setter made 51 assists and 11 digs for a double-double.

The Badgers had five service aces, while Guctekin had two of his own. In addition to her 10 kills, Orzol added 16 digs for a double-double. Schumacher led the team with 22 digs.

The Badgers outscored the Golden Eagles 9.0 to 5.0, with Smrek leading the way with six blocks.

Directly from the court

Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
About the game against Marquette: “When you play against Marquette, they're going to extend the rallies and play really hard. You have to be willing to go in the middle and wrestle a little bit and be able to handle long rallies and fight and battle. I thought our team did a really good job of that.”

About Carly as starting player: “I think there are a lot of positives to come out of the game. First of all, it's the reason we brought in Carly. She's probably one of the most experienced setters in the country and she's going into her fifth year.”

senior Anna Smrek
On the subject of adversity: “One of the biggest strengths of our team is that we can use a lot of different players on the pitch. I think one of our biggest strengths is also that we can step in at the last minute in difficult situations when we support Carly and the attackers have her back. We work together and that will be a strength for us in the end.”

PhD student Carly Anderson

On her attitude after being called into the lineup at the last second: “I think when I found out today that I'm going to play, it's been a big goal for me all season to fulfill my role and do what I can for my team. Every day it's going to look a little different and that's my role. It's the same mindset because today they needed me on the pitch and I'm glad I was able to play that role. But every day is going to be different and I'm going to do my best to play that role every day.”

To Sarah Franklin's Performance tonight
“Sarah makes the game so easy for a setter and for her whole team. You saw that all game, 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 a crazy game. Everyone had my back all game, but she especially did it. She's amazing.”

First semester Lola Schumacher

About the team’s defensive performance tonight
“I would definitely say GG, Oz, Frank and I tried to build a connection and almost had that one heartbeat. I think that mindset that no ball is going to hit that ground, period, is critical. One thing we really think about is we're not going through a game, we're trying to grow through a game and I think that's super important for us, not just in the back row but in the front row and off the court as well. Being as small as we are, we can't really score points for our team, but we can create better opportunities for our front row hitters. I think that we know our role and just have to fill it to the best of our ability.”

Things to know

• Fifth-year outside attacker, Sarah Franklin moves into fifth place on the program's all-time list with 1,528 kills. She surpasses Arlisa Hagan with 1,495 kills. Sherise Livingston is in the lead with 1,912 kills.
• 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-high .517 (33-2-60).
• The Badgers achieved their best batting average of the season at .355 (68-13-155).
• senior Julia Orzol recorded her second consecutive double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs.
• Libero in the first year Lola Schumacher tallied 22 digs. This is the second time this season that she has tallied 20+ digs.
• In her first start for the Badgers, graduate Carly Anderson had 51 assists and 11 digs.
• senior Anna Smrek achieved a season high with 15 kills (15-3-29) and six blocks.

Next

The Badgers return to the Field House this weekend for two games against Troy and Texas A&M. The game against Troy is scheduled for Friday night at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on B1G+. On Saturday night, Wisconsin hosts Texas A&M at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on BTN.