MADISON, Wis. -- No. 3 Wisconsin (23-2, 14-2 B1G) countdown the regular season with just four matches remaining, including the next two matches on the road. The Badgers play No. 16 Purdue (17-8, 11-5) on Friday at 6 p.m. and the match airs live on BTN. UW wraps up its Big Ten road play at Indiana (18-11, 8-8) on Sunday at 12 p.m.
1. LAST TIME OUT: Wisconsin dropped its second Big Ten match of the season, losing 3-1 at No. 19 Penn State on Saturday. The Badgers were without right-side hitter
Anna Smrek, who missed the match with an upper-body injury. With the injury,
Temi Thomas-Ailara moved to the right side while Julia Orzoł started on the left side and Gülce Güçtekin started at libero.
2. HAMMER TIME: Wisconsin has a balanced offensive attack with five hitters that average 1.78 or more kills per set. As a team, the Badgers average 13.75 kills per set, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 25th nationally.
3. ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER BLOCK: The Badgers averaged an impressive 3.43 blocks per set last weekend, outblocking Maryland 13-1 and Penn State 11-9. Sophomore
Carter Booth averaged 1.71 blocks per set while senior Caroline Crawford added 1.43 blocks per set. Senior
Devyn Robinson stopped 1.14 blocks per set. On the year, Wisconsin has outblocked 24 opponents this season, more than doubling up 14 foes in team blocks. UW is averaging 3.01 blocks per set while allowing only 1.47 blocks per set.
4. B1G TIME PLAYER: Senior
Sarah Franklin is making a case for Big Ten Player of the Year, ranking fifth in the Big Ten with 4.05 kills per set while hitting .306. In conference-only matches, she ups her average to 4.25 kills per set, which also ranks fifth, while hitting .335, which ranks ninth.
5. THE MAN: With a 3-0 sweep at Maryland on Saturday, head coach
Kelly Sheffield became the all-time winningest coach at Wisconsin in Big Ten play with 171 wins. He passed former head coach Pete Waite (1999-2012), who had 170 conference wins in 14 years.
6. STOPPING FOES: The Badgers lead the conference in opponent blocks (1.47) while ranking second in opponent hitting percentage (.140), and opponent kills (10.86). UW also ranks third in opponent assists (10.23) while ranking fourth in opponent service aces (1.06) and opponent digs (13.07).
