MADISON, Wis. – Head coach Kelly Sheffield has announced that Sarah Franklin, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter, will join the national champion Wisconsin volleyball team in 2022. Franklin spent the last two seasons at Michigan State, where she earned first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors in 2021.
 
"Sarah is a six-rotation outside who has played at a high level in the Big Ten for the past two seasons," said Sheffield. "Last year, she passed half the court all six rotations. She also has a big arm with the ability to hit with range, and can terminate in-system and out-of-system. Sarah has a serve that she can hit with pace and score off of. She is a confident competitor who loves to play the game.  I can't wait to get her in the gym with us!"
 
As a sophomore, Franklin had a stand-out season, leading the Spartans with 3.96 kills per set, which ranked third in the Big Ten. She also ranked fifth in the conference with 4.50 points (kills + service aces + block solos + ½ block assists) per set.
 
In Big Ten play, the Lake Worth, Florida, native upped her stats to 4.11 kills per set, which ranked fourth in the conference, and 4.66 points per set, ranking fourth in the Big Ten. Franklin recorded double-figure kills in 20 matches in 2021, including 20-plus kills in seven matches. She had a career-high 27 kills in a five-set match at Penn State on Nov. 6.
 
Franklin also served and played back row, adding 25 service aces (0.25/set) for second on the team, and 229 digs (2.25/set), ranking fourth on the MSU squad. She had double-figure digs in 11 matches, including a career-high 15 saves vs. Northwestern on Nov. 27.  Franklin also added 59 total blocks (0.58/set).
 
Franklin played in just seven matches as a true freshman in 2020-21 before her season ended due to injury.  The outside hitter was averaging a team-best 3.81 kills per set while adding 2.19 digs per set, tallying double-figure kills in six matches and double-figure digs in two matches.
 
As a prep, Franklin was ranked No. 29 by PrepVolleyball while earning honorable mention Under Armour All-America honors. She was a three-time Palm Beach Post Player of the Year at Lake Worth Christian High School while earning three first-team all-area honors by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Lake Worth won three regional and three district titles during her tenure with Franklin reaching the 2,000-kill mark as a senior. She also played with the Palm Beach Juniors, earning AAU all-tournament and all-star honors.
 
Franklin becomes the fourth new member of the Badgers for 2022. She joins Caroline Crawford, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker, who transferred from Kansas; Gulce Guctekin, a 5-foot-5 libero from Istanbul; and Ella Wrobel, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Plainfield, Illinois.