Photo by: Tom Lynn
Serving up six: Wisconsin opens spring season
March 29, 2023 | Volleyball
Badgers take on Marquette Friday in Oconomowoc
MADISON, Wis. – The reigning Big Ten champion Wisconsin volleyball team kicks off the 2023 spring season with a match against Marquette at Oconomowoc High School in Oconomowoc High School on Friday. First serve is at 7:30 p.m. The match, which is sold out, will be streamed live on Facebook.
1. BADGERS WIN BIG TEN IN 2022: The Badgers (28-4 in 2022) wrapped up the 2022 season, competing in their 10th-straight NCAA Tournament, advancing to at least the Elite Eight round for the eighth time. Wisconsin won its ninth Big Ten championship, including its fourth straight, with a 19-1 record. UW ended the season ranked fifth in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches poll.
2. NEW SEASON, SAME TEAM: Wisconsin returns 12 letter winners and five starters plus its libero for 2023. With all of the returnees, the Badgers return more than 73 percent of its statistics from last season. UW returns 98.8% (1412 or 1429) of its assists; 91.7% (1453 or 1585) of its digs; 90.2% (175 of 194) of its service aces; 82.2% (1263 of 1537) of its kills; and 73.1% (261.5 of 357.5) of its blocks.
3. RETURNING IN RED: Many key players from the roster will return to play for Wisconsin in the spring matches. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin heads into the spring matches after leading the Badgers in kills, averaging 3.51 per set in 2022. Junior Devyn Robinson finished last season, starting all 32 matches and ranking third for the Badgers in hitting percentage, finishing off with a .312 clip. Junior Caroline Crawford leads the Badgers in blocks, finishing the season off with an average of 1.43 blocks per set, which ranked her as seventh in the Big Ten. At outside hitter, Julia Orzol comes off an impressive season where she started all 32 matches and ranked second on the team with 2.44 kills per set. Starting libero, Gulce Guctekin led the Badgers in service aces with 0.31 per set. She also led the team and ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 3.95 digs per set.
4. WELCOME NEWCOMERS: The Badgers welcome two new players this spring season. Transfer Carter Booth joins the team from Minnesota. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker was named first-team all-Big Ten and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2022. She is joined by incoming freshman Saige Damrow, a libero from Howards Grove, Wisconsin. Damrow is a four-time Wisconsin state champion and was ranked as the No. 2 libero in the country according to PrepVolleyball.com.
5. SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: No. 13 Marquette finished their 2022 season with a 29-4 record, sharing the regular-season Big East title at 17-1. The Golden Eagles went undefeated (18-0) at home matches last season and made their second appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16, falling to Texas, the 2022 national champions, in the NCAA regional semifinals.
6. BADGERS COMPETE ABOVE AND BEYOND: Sarah Franklin and Carter Booth were selected to represent UW with a spring-break training trip with the U.S. National Team. Eighteen players from across the country were selected to train at the Anaheim National Team Training Center. This was Booth's third appearance in a U.S. uniform while Franklin made her national team debut.
1. BADGERS WIN BIG TEN IN 2022: The Badgers (28-4 in 2022) wrapped up the 2022 season, competing in their 10th-straight NCAA Tournament, advancing to at least the Elite Eight round for the eighth time. Wisconsin won its ninth Big Ten championship, including its fourth straight, with a 19-1 record. UW ended the season ranked fifth in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches poll.
2. NEW SEASON, SAME TEAM: Wisconsin returns 12 letter winners and five starters plus its libero for 2023. With all of the returnees, the Badgers return more than 73 percent of its statistics from last season. UW returns 98.8% (1412 or 1429) of its assists; 91.7% (1453 or 1585) of its digs; 90.2% (175 of 194) of its service aces; 82.2% (1263 of 1537) of its kills; and 73.1% (261.5 of 357.5) of its blocks.
3. RETURNING IN RED: Many key players from the roster will return to play for Wisconsin in the spring matches. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin heads into the spring matches after leading the Badgers in kills, averaging 3.51 per set in 2022. Junior Devyn Robinson finished last season, starting all 32 matches and ranking third for the Badgers in hitting percentage, finishing off with a .312 clip. Junior Caroline Crawford leads the Badgers in blocks, finishing the season off with an average of 1.43 blocks per set, which ranked her as seventh in the Big Ten. At outside hitter, Julia Orzol comes off an impressive season where she started all 32 matches and ranked second on the team with 2.44 kills per set. Starting libero, Gulce Guctekin led the Badgers in service aces with 0.31 per set. She also led the team and ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 3.95 digs per set.
4. WELCOME NEWCOMERS: The Badgers welcome two new players this spring season. Transfer Carter Booth joins the team from Minnesota. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker was named first-team all-Big Ten and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2022. She is joined by incoming freshman Saige Damrow, a libero from Howards Grove, Wisconsin. Damrow is a four-time Wisconsin state champion and was ranked as the No. 2 libero in the country according to PrepVolleyball.com.
5. SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: No. 13 Marquette finished their 2022 season with a 29-4 record, sharing the regular-season Big East title at 17-1. The Golden Eagles went undefeated (18-0) at home matches last season and made their second appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16, falling to Texas, the 2022 national champions, in the NCAA regional semifinals.
6. BADGERS COMPETE ABOVE AND BEYOND: Sarah Franklin and Carter Booth were selected to represent UW with a spring-break training trip with the U.S. National Team. Eighteen players from across the country were selected to train at the Anaheim National Team Training Center. This was Booth's third appearance in a U.S. uniform while Franklin made her national team debut.
Players Mentioned
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