Serving up six: Badgers split Big Ten action this week

Thursday, November 3

Urbana-Champaign, IL

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Illinois

Photo by: Greg Anderson

Serving up six: Badgers split Big Ten action this week

November 01, 2022 | Volleyball

No. 3 Wisconsin travels to Illinois, hosts Indiana

By: Diane Nordstrom

Venue	Huff Hall, Champaign, Ill. \| UW Field House, Madison, Wis.
TV	B ig Ten Network (Illinois) \| B1G+ (Indiana)
Radio	WIBA 1310 AM (Illinois) \| FoxSports 1070 (Indiana)
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Illinois \| Indiana
Live Stats	StatBroadcast (Illinois) \| SideArm (Indiana)
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram
Tickets	Illinois Ticket Office \| Wisconsin Ticket Office

MADISON, Wis. -- Third-ranked Wisconsin (17-3, 11-1 B1G) continues the second half of Big Ten play with a split week of play, traveling to Illinois (11-11, 6-6) before hosting Indiana (13-11, 6-6). The Badgers travel to Champaign, Illinois, on Thursday to take on the Fighting Illini. First serve is at 7 p.m. from Huff Hall, live on the Big Ten Network. UW returns home to host the Hoosiers on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the UW Field House. That match streams live on B1G+.

1. 10 WINS IN A ROW: Wisconsin extended its winning streak to 10 matches with two top-10 wins last week. The Badgers swept No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday before downing No. 9 Minnesota, 3-1, on Saturday. UW has won 11 straight home Big Ten matches and is undefeated in the UW Field House this season.

2. FRANK THE TANK! Redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 5.57 kills per set last week, leading the Badgers to wins over two top-10 opponents. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter had 21 kills vs. Nebraska and 18 kills against Minnesota. She also added 2.00 digs and 0.57 blocks per set on the weekend. The Lake Worth, Florida, native also passed very well, being aced only once in 70 service receptions for .986 percent.

3. DOWNING RANKED TEAMS: After starting the season 2-3 against top-25 teams, the Badgers have downed their last six ranked opponents to improve to 8-3 against top teams. Wisconsin has defeated more ranked teams than any other team in the nation. Big Ten-foe Minnesota ranks second at 7-5.

4. HITTING PERCENTAGE LEADER: In all matches, the Badgers lead the conference and rank 28th nationally with a .261 hitting percentage. On the season, grad Danielle Hart ranks second in the Big Ten with a .394 hitting percentage. Junior Devyn Robinson ranks eighth at .338. Junior middle blocker Caroline Crawford hits .370 but doesn't take enough attacks to quality for Big Ten or NCAA stats. In Big Ten matches, Wisconsin ranks third in the conference at .255. Individually Hart ranks second at .397 while Robinson sits fourth at .357. Crawford connect on .383 percent.

5. SERVING STRONG: In Big Ten matches, the Badgers lead the conference with 1.67 service aces per set. Wisconsin also ranks second, allowing just 0.88 aces per set. Junior MJ Hammill leads the Badgers and ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 0.36 aces per set. Senior Izzy Ashburn adds 0.31 service aces per set while freshman Gülce Güçtekin (0.24/set) and Julia Orzoł (0.24) are also strong servers. In Big Ten play, UW ranks third with 1.76 aces per set while ranking second, allowing 0.82 service aces per set. Individually, Güçtekin ranks seventh with 0.40 aces per set. Hammill ranks second on the team with 0.34 aces per set while Ashburn adds 0.32 aces per set.

6. WISCONSIN IN THE POLLS: Wisconsin moved up two places to third in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll released Monday. The Big Ten leads the poll with six teams in the top 25. Wisconsin has been ranked in the AVCA national poll for 146 consecutive polls, including the last 49 straight polls in the top 10. UW moved up to fifth in the NCAA RPI released Monday. The Badgers are the second Big Ten team in the RPI, which features seven conference teams in the top 30. The DI women's volleyball selection committee released its second top-10 of the 2022 season on Sunday. Wisconsin, which did not appear in the first edition of the committee's top 10 released Sept. 30, is seeded seventh.