EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Back to their sweeping ways, Senior Sarah Franklin and the No. 2 Wisconsin volleyball team took care of Michigan State on Friday in straight sets, 25-23, 25-17, 25-16. 

Franklin dominated the match, as she led the Badgers (19-1, 10-1) with 17 kills, hitting .500 (17-1-32). Anna Smrek and Carter Booth each tallied eight kills. UW hit .371 (42 kills - 9 errors - 89 attempts) on the night.

The Spartans (13-9, 5-6) were led by Evie Doezema and Aliyah Moore, as they both finished with nine kills. As a team, Michigan State hit just .178 (35 - 19 -90). 

Izzy Ashburn recorded 24 assists, as Hammill added 14. Julia Orzol finished with a match-high 12 digs.

UW outblocked Michigan State, 8.0-7.0, with CC Crawford posting five blocks of her own.

The Badgers got off to a bit of a slow start, as they fell behind 7-1 early. The Spartans maintained the lead until the Badgers tied it up at 18 apiece. Michigan State regained the lead at 22-20, but a 5-1 UW run gave them the set one victory, 25-23. 

Wisconsin took care of business in set two and jumped out to a 15-9 lead. The Spartans got the score back within three at 18-15, but a kill from Carter Booth jump started a 7-2 run from the Badgers to end the set, 25-17.  

It was a neck and neck at 9-8, with the advantage to UW in the third. The Badgers took off from there and continued to extend their lead, as Franklin tallied six kills in the final frame. Wisconsin took the final set, 25-16. 

Straight from the court 

Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On the first set: "We stayed with it and Julia started putting some really good serves into space which helped. We found a way to kind of close out that first set."
On responding to last weekend: "Serving was good and just overall I thought we did some good things. After last week and the interchange with that. I thought we came on the road and found a way to get that done."
 

Notes to know 

​​​​​​·      With 8 blocks, the Badgers have outblocked 19-of-20 opponents this season.
·      With a .371 (42-9-89) hitting percentage against the Spartans, the Badgers have hit .300 or better in 14 matches.
·      This marks Julia Orzol's 17th match recording double-digit digs (12).
·      The Badgers hit .581 (19-1-31) in the third set marking the highest hitting percentage in a set so far this season.
·      Senior Sarah Franklin tallied 17 kills, her sixth-straight match with double-digit kills.
 

Up Next 

Wisconsin will return back to the UW Field House to host Minnesota at 3:55 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The game will be broadcasted on Fox right after the Packers/Viking game, the first ever volleyball game to be aired on the network.