MADISON -- Another day, another sweep for the No. 1 Wisconsin volleyball team as it secured a three-set win against Maryland on Sunday afternoon at the UW Field House.
Eight kills from Sarah Franklin led the Badgers (17-0, 8-0) to a 25-15 win in the first set. Maryland got it within two points (8-10), but serving runs from Julia Orzol and Anna Smrek gave UW a 20-10 lead and the Terps couldn't recover.
Maryland (13-7, 3-5) stayed with Wisconsin in the early stages of the second set, but a 4-0 run from the Badgers forced a Maryland timeout at 10-5. From there, Wisconsin extended their lead, and a kill from Temi Thomas-Ailara gave the Badgers the 25-12 second set win.
UW got out to a quick start in the third set, establishing a 12-3 lead behind a 7-0 serving run from Julia Orzol. Maryland responded with two runs of their own and forced a Wisconsin timeout at 14-11. After the timeout, the Badgers didn't allow Maryland more than one point in a row. UW took the third and final set, 25-16.
Franklin led the way with 18 kills, and Anna Smrek added 11 kills. UW hit .311 (44 kills - 12 errors - 103 attempts).
The Badgers held Maryland to just .029 (23 - 20 - 103), as Eva Rohrbach and Sam Csire both finished with a team-high five kills.
Izzy Ashburn set a career-high with 35 assists, and also added 11 digs to complete a double-double. Orzol finished with a match-high 15 digs.
The Badgers outblocked their opponents once again, with 8.0 team blocks compared to Maryland's 6.0. Crawford finished with five blocks and Smrek added four.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
On getting better each day: "We're not focusing in on our win loss record. We're not focusing on that kind of stuff. We're just buying in to keep getting better and there's so much area I think, especially as an athlete, where it gets to be really exciting when you can just keep seeing so many areas that you can kind of gnaw and go after it to try to get better."
On the team's attitude: "They're chasing, trying to be really good. They're chasing improvement and, as a coach, that's where you want them to be."
Libero Julia Ozrol
On paying attention to what comes next: "If you ask some of us, we wouldn't probably know how many sets in a row we've won. I think we don't pay attention that much to the numbers and it's always onto the next. We know that getting stuck in the past it not going to get us any better, so it's always what's next."
Outside hitter Sarah Franklin
On building off the momentum from the backrow: "It's a lot of fun to come off the block, turn around and see Ozzie (Julia) in the back row, just in the air and digging a ball. It makes me want to work harder to get a chance to get a kill for that. So it just builds momentum for whenever we have big plays or big digs and we continue to work, and like coach said, just squeeze those little points that we can continue to get."
Notes to know
- With the win over Maryland, Wisconsin set a school record, having won 17 consecutive matches to start the season.
- The Badgers extend the Big Ten match winning streak, dating back to 2022, to 26 matches, and an 18-match conference winning streak in the Field House.
- With another sweep, Wisconsin has won 27-straight sets, an NCAA season record.
- Wisconsin held Maryland to a .029 (23-20-103) hitting percentage, the lowest hitting percentage this season, and is the seventh time the Badgers have held their opponents under .100.
- Setter Izzy Ashburn had a career-high 35 assists
- UW hit .311 (44-12-103) marking the seventh time in 2023 where the Badgers have hit .300 or better.
Up next
Wisconsin finishes out their three-match homestand against Ohio State on Wednesday night at the UW Field House. The match starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted in Big Ten Network.
