BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The third-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team snapped a two-match losing streak, sweeping Indiana 25-19, 26-24, 25-14, on Sunday afternoon.
Behind six team blocks and four kills apiece from Temi Thomas-Ailara and Sarah Franklin, the Badgers (24-3, 15-3 B1G) took set one 25-19. The Badgers came out strong, forcing a Hoosier (19-12, 9-9) timeout at 10-5. Indiana sided out and then put together a 5-2 rally to bring the set within two (12-10). The Hoosiers remained with two points, including at 20-18, before UW went on 4-0 run for set point at 24-18. IU held off one set point before a Hoosier service error put Wisconsin up 1-0 in the match.Â
Wisconsin and Indiana went back and forth in the second set with 13 ties and seven lead changes. Indiana held a 4-0 lead early, but from there neither team led by more than two points. With the score tied at 23, the Badgers successfully challenged the call on the court, changing an Indiana kill into an attack error to give UW at 24-23 lead. The Hoosiers knotted the score at 24 off a Morgan Geddes kill but UW got back-to-back kills from Franklin and Anna Smrek, who returned after missing the last three matches, for 26-24 second set victory.
The Badgers took control in set three, taking an early 4-0 lead before forcing an Indiana timeout at 11-5. UW continued to pull away, totaling five blocks and 13 kills in the set to complete the sweep.Â
Wisconsin got its offense back on track as Franklin led the way with 11 kills. Smrek was just behind her with 10 kills and Thomas-Ailara added nine kills. As a team they hit .340 (41 kills - 8 errors - 97 attempts). UW held Indiana to just .103 (39 - 26 -126) as the Hosiers were led by outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles with a match-high 15 kills.
UW recorded 14 total blocks, compared to Indiana's one. Carter Booth finished with eight blocks with CC Crawford adding six and Smrek five.Â
MJ Hammill put up 17 assists and Izzy Ashburn recorded 14. For her second match in a row, Ashburn recorded a double-double adding 10 digs. Franklin also had a double-double for the second match in a row, adding 13 digs. Julia Orzol moved back to libero, sharing match-high honors with Franklin with 13 digs.Â
Indiana scored four service aces while the Badgers scored two - one each from Crawford and Gulce Guctekin.
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Straight from the courtÂ
Head coach Kelly SheffieldÂ
On preparing for Nebraska:Â "We're not ready to get to the NCAA tournament right now. We've got work to do. We want to continue to play well and grow. Let's see how good we can get, and that's team that is playing better than anybody in the country. That's a real test to see if you're on top of your game and what you need to continue to work on during the few days that remain afterwards. We want to play well and we want to get on this. We want ot start building some momentum. This is as healthy as we have been in a long time."
Setter Izzy AshburnÂ
On Indiana's serving:Â "They have a very different serving team, all six rotations, from other teams in the Big Ten. Prepping for them makes it tough, but I thought our passes did a really good job moving on from each ball. They are going to get their good serves and their aces."
Notes to knowÂ
- Wisconsin hit above .300 for the 19th time this season.
- The Badgers outblocked its opponent (14-1) for the 24th time this season. Wisconsin has only been outblocked once (Penn State) and tied (Florida) against their opponents.
- Back from injury, sophomore Anna Smrek tallied 10 kills, 10-2-12 and a .667 hitting percentage.
- Setter Izzy Ashburn recorded her 13th double-double, with 14 assists and 10 digs.
- Outside hitter Sarah Franklin has now recorded her sixth double-double 11 kills and 13 digs.
- Franklin also tallied double-digits kills for the 21st time this season.
Up Next
Wisconsin closes out the regular season at home next weekend against No. 1 Nebraska and Iowa. First serve vs Nebraska is set for 3 p.m. on Friday and will be aired on BTN. The Badgers will then celebrate Senior Night on Saturday vs. Iowa at 7 p.m.
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