Serving up six: No. 1 Badgers at No. 2 Cornhuskers showdown

Saturday, October 21

Lincoln, NE

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Nebraska

Photo by: Darren Lee

Serving up six: No. 1 Badgers at No. 2 Cornhuskers showdown

October 20, 2023 | Volleyball

UW takes to the road on Saturday playing at No. 2 Nebraska

By: Ashley Steltenpohl

Venue	Devaney Sports Center \| Lincoln, Neb.
TV	BTN
Radio	FoxSports 1070
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Nebraska
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

MADISON, Wis. -- No. 1 Wisconsin (18-0, 9-0 B1G) takes to the road on Saturday, playing at No. 2 Nebraska (18-0, 9-0 B1G) at 7 p.m. The match can be watched live on the Big Ten Network.

1. NO. 1 vs NO. 2: Unofficially, this will be the 42nd time that the No. 1 has played the No. 2, including the 33rd time during the regular season.

2. OFFENSIVE POWER AT THE TOP OF THE B1G: The Badgers lead the conference a number of offensive categories, including hitting percentage (.315), assists (13.08/set), kills (14.02/set), and points (18.65/set). UW also serves up 1.85 aces/set, which ranks second in the league.

3. BIG BLOCK BOOTH: The 6-foot-7 middle blocker, Carter Booth, sits atop the B1G, averaging 1.45 blocks/set and ranks 8th in the NCAA. Booth was named Big Ten Defensive Player the week of Oct. 2.

4. OUR BIGS CAN HIT TOO: Junior Anna Smrek and sophomore Carter Booth are the top-two players in the Big Ten in individual hitting percentage. Booth leads the conference hitting .454, while Smrek comes in hitting .418 and ranks 17th in the NCAA. Per the NCAA rankings, an athlete must average 3.33 attacks per set and/or must play in 66.7% of their team's sets to for hitting percentage rankings.

5. BY THE NUMBERS: UW has the nation's longest set winning streak this season.
1. Wisconsin 30 (9/17-present)
2. Dayton: 26 (9/22 - present)
3. Arizona State: 24 (9/3-9/21)
4. Tennessee: 18 (9/8-9/29)
5. Nebraska: 17 (8/25-9/6)

The Badgers record for longest set winning streak is 33 from Sept. 6, 2000—Sept. 29, 2000. Wisconsin has won 24 straight sets in Big Ten play, just two short of the record. UW won 26-straight Big Ten sets from Sept. 22, 2002—Oct. 26, 2002 and Oct. 4, 2014—Nov. 7, 2014.

6. DOMINATING OPPONENTS: UW has been dominating opponents this season, more than doubling up foes in hitting percentage while recording nearly double the blocks.

STAT	WIS	OPP	+/-
Hit %	.315	.143	+.172
Kills/Set	14.02	10.48	+3.54
Assists/Set	13.08	9.89	+3.01
Service Aces/Set	1.81	1.21	+0.60
Digs/Set	14.50	13.05	+1.45
Blocks/Set	2.77	1.42	+1.35