How to watch Wisconsin volleyball vs. Troy, Texas A&M

The Badgers (4-3) are above .500 for the first time after they lost three challenging matches to open the season. Set to visit are Troy (5-3) and Texas A&M (8-0), which could vault into the AVCA rankings with a win.

Wisconsin moves back to its cozy home after a four-set win over I-94 rival Marquette on Tuesday at the Kohl Center. The Badgers lost the first set before winning the final three, which included 10 straight points to turn a deficit into a breakaway lead in the third set, in front of 15,084 fans to win their fourth straight match.

Here are a few things to know and how to tune in.

The opportunity to watch Sarah Franklin shouldn’t be taken for granted. The superstar set a program record with 33 kills Tuesday and hit .517 all while battling a back injury. The All-American six-rotation hitter couldn’t be stopped, even by a lingering back injury.

Franklin was pacing in place in-between points and sprinting during breaks to try and stay loose, which coach Kelly Sheffield said he hadn’t seen in his years around the sport. It was another amazing performance for the reigning national player of the year.

“To put that performance with her back as tight as it was and in as much pain as she was, she’s a warrior,” Sheffield said. “That is absolutely one of the best matches I’ve ever seen a player do under the circumstances. It was fantastic.”

She sits at 1,528 career kills, which is fifth all-time, and puts her 384 kills from matching the career record of 1,912 set by Sherise Livingston. Franklin needs to average 17.5 kills per match by the end of the regular season to get to that point.

Freshman Charlie Fuerbringer was coming along in directing Wisconsin’s offense. But she was sidelined Tuesday with a walking boot on her right foot, and even tried jogging onto the court returning from the locker room after the second set, but slowed after the boot was not conducive to jogging.

It opened the door for Montana transfer Carly Anderson to showcase her skills in her first Badgers start. She had 51 assists after finding out hours before the match she was starting.

“It’s not easy to get told a few hours before match time that you’re running the show,” Sheffield said. “We saw her composure and connection. We hit for a pretty good percentage as the match went on. I loved her composure.”

But there were times when Anderson rotated to the front row that she was substituted out as Wisconsin went without a setter. Sheffield opted to have more blockers in the front row by substituting in either Devyn Robinson or Caroline Crawford, who led a setter-less lineup to nine straight points.

Fuerbringer averages 10.12 assists and 2.4 digs per set and has shown versatility with 17 kills (.424), 10 blocks and five service aces. An update on her status was not immediately known.

Last season’s Wisconsin American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Americans were named to this season’s watch list. Franklin was joined by senior Anna Smrek, a second team pick last season, and junior Carter Booth, a third team selection. Smrek returned to the starting lineup Tuesday after missing a match and playing sparingly in three straight. She had 15 kills (.414).

The Trojans have a pair of players returning to their home state, and a win would be the program’s first against a ranked opponent. Maleah Howe is a 5-foot-9 outside hitter from Waukesha. The Oconomowoc grad played in 32 sets across nine matches and had a career-high 10 kills against Texas State last season.

Freshman Olivia Kwiatkowski had a career-high 11 kills in Troy’s five-set win over LSU. The Oconomowoc grad is averaging 2.4 kills per set (.088).

Junior setter Janelle Stuempfig is part of the 6-2 system after being second team all-Sun Belt last season. The Sussex Hamilton grad had a career-high 63 kills against Southern Mississippi. She had 26 assists in the win at LSU and is averaging 5.32 assists per set.

Tori Hester, a 5-9 outside from Salisbury, North Carolina, is the go-to attacker for the Trojans. Hester entered the weekend fifth nationally with 4.82 kills per set, 20th with 11.79 attacks per set and 45th with .54 aces per set. She had season highs of five aces against Alabama State, 29 kills (.382) against New Hampshire and hit .526 (12 kills) against Alabama State.

Amiah Butler averaged 4.3 kills per set (.432) last week en route to Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week.

The Aggies are off to an unbeaten start after winning at Northern Iowa in four sets Thursday. They have benefitted from the transfer of star setter Maddie Waas.

She left LSU after 1,270 assists across two seasons, which included 801 as a starter last season. She hasn’t taken long to get acclimated to her new teammates. Waas entered the weekend leading the country with 11.83 assists per set.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla is a 6-2 middle blocker proving to be among the best nationally. She ranks 12th with 1.52 blocks per set. She’s also 37th nationally hitting .404 (59 kills).

Waas has plenty of options on the attack. Logna Lednicky, a 6-3 opposite, is 35th nationally with 4.17 kills per set. Another middle, 6-1 Morgan Perkins, is 10th in the country hitting .480 (59 kills).

Waas had 47 assists in Thursday’s four-set win at Northern Iowa, which marked the third best start in Aggies history and best since 2011. Lednicky had 20 kills (.395) and Cos-Okpalla added nine blocks.

Tickets for Friday’s match against Troy span from $20 to $30 on Wisconsin’s website. General admission seats are going for $7 whereas seats in the lower bowl go for as high as $62 on third-party vendor SeatGeek.

Friday’s match will not be broadcast on cable or regular streaming services, such as YouTube TV, Fubo or Hulu. Fans instead must have an ESPN+ subscription to watch.

Subscriptions for ESPN+ start at $10.99 per month with an annual plan offered at $109.99 per year. There is also a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for $14.99 per month.

The Badgers have a new radio home on 100.5 FM in Madison and 620 AM in Milwaukee.

Saturday’s match is more expensive with general admission seats starting at $22 on third-party vendor SeatGeek. The website is Wisconsin’s official reselling website, and the Badgers’ website redirects fans seeking tickets to SeatGeek for this match.

Seats in the lower bowl range from $23 to $149.

The match will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. 

The match will be available for streaming on the Fox Sports app and foxsports.com.

The Badgers have a new radio home on 100.5 FM in Madison and 620 AM in Milwaukee.