MADISON -- On the big stage, during the first volleyball game aired on FOX, the No. 2 Wisconsin volleyball team swept Minnesota, 25-13, 25-20, 25-19, at the UW Field House on Sunday afternoon.
Six kills from Sarah Franklin in the first frame, combined with 5.0 team blocks, propelled the Badgers (20-1, 11-1) to a 25-13 victory in set one. It was a back-and-forth battle until a kill from Temi Thomas-Ailara followed by a Minnesota (10-10, 6-6) error forced a Gopher timeout at 11-7. UW ran away with it from there.
In the second set, the Badgers and Gophers went toe-to-toe, but Cardinal Red and White came prevailed to take a 2-0 lead. Tied up at 12 apiece, a kill from Anna Smrek gave Wisconsin the lead and from there, Wisconsin never looked back. Minnesota brought it within three, at 22-19, but UW held them off to take a 25-20 second set win.
Franklin closed her dominant day with eight kills in the final set. The Badgers jumped out to a quick 11-6 lead, but the Gophers closed the gap quickly and it was just a 13-11 lead for Wisconsin. A short run from the Badgers forced a Minnesota timeout at 16-12 and couldn't recover. Wisconsin won the set 25-19 to sweep the Gophers.
Franklin continued to light it up, posting her best hitting percentage at .465, with 21 kills. Temi Thomas-Ailara tallied nine kills, while Devyn Robinson added eight. Wisconsin hit .336 (48 kills - 12 errors - 107 attempts).
The Badgers held Minnesota to just .110 (32 - 19 - 118) as Taylor Landfair led the Gophers with 12 kills.
UW doubled Minnesota's total blocks, with 12.0 blocks compared to Minnesota's 6.0. CC Crawford led the way with six blocks of her own.
MJ Hammill and Izzy Ashburn put up 21 and 16 assists, respectively. Izzy Ashburn finished with 11 digs to complete a double-double. Gulce Guctekin added 12 digs, and Julia Orzol had a team-high 15 digs.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
On Temi and Sarah's strong performance: "You've got to be tough to play the left, especially in this conference with some of the blocks that we've got. You've got to be tough, you have to have a short memory, you have to be fearless and both of these two are. They've had a lot of matches where they've carried teams and so there's a lot of trust in both of them."
On growing the game: "There's a little bit of something extra when you're trying to grow the game, and grow the sport and get more eyeballs on it… I thought that with the way that they played upstairs today, I don't know how you can watch that match and see the effort that both teams gave defensively and the work, and the athleticism, and the strength and the environment itself and not say, 'Man, I probably need to tune in a little bit more to this sport.'"
Outside Sarah Franklin
On bettering the ball: "It's just fun on the court because if someone makes a really good play, you wanna better that play, you want to better that and so we do that in practice. Seeing that show up in games is just really exciting especially the atmosphere helps a lot."
Outside Temi Thomas-Ailara
On bouncing back after Michigan State: "One thing we talk about is that the train keeps moving. So whatever happen in the match before it doesn't matter for the match that's happening today. Just play the best you can in that moment and hopefully its enough."
Notes to know
- With the win, this is Wisconsin's 10th straight year (excluding 2021 due to COVID) where the Badgers have won 20 or more matches.
- Wisconsin held Minnesota to a .107 (32-19-121) hitting percentage marking the seventh match where the Badgers held their opponent under .200.
- UW doubled up Minnesota 12-to-6 in blocks. This marks the 9th match where the Badgers have recorded double-digit blocks.
- Wisconsin has now outblocked their opponents 20-of-21 matches, tying the opponent in the one match
- Outside hitter Sarah Franklin hit a season best .455 (21-1-44).
- Libera Julia Orzol had 15 digs for her 18th match with double-digit digs
Up Next
Wisconsin will continue its three-match home stand, with a top-25 matchup against No. 16 Purdue on Wednesday night at the UW Field House. First serve is at 6 p.m. and the match will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network.
