Photo by: Greg Anderson
Serving up six: Badgers return to the Field House
April 03, 2023 | Volleyball
Wisconsin plays Athletes Unlimited in spring home match
| Venue | UW Field House, Madison, Wis. |
| TV | B1G+ |
| Radio | WSUM (91.7 FM) |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Social Media | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
| Tickets | Free Admission; Doors open at 6 p.m. |
| Parking | $5 -- Lot 19 (ADA only); Lot 16 and Lot 17 |
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin volleyball team continues the 2023 spring season with a home match against Athletes Unlimited at the UW Field House on Wednesday night. First serve is at 7 p.m and the match will be streamed live on Big Ten+.
1. GOLDEN EAGLE SWEEP: The Badgers opened up their spring season with a 3-0 sweep against Marquette at Oconomowoc High School last Friday. Wisconsin downed the Golden Eagles, 25-17, 25-13, 25-14. UW hit .341 (40-10-88) while holding Marquette to a negative .059 (21-27-102). UW had five players record seven-or-more kills. Devyn Robinson led all players with 10 kills while Julia Orzol put away eight attacks. Carter Booth, Anna Smrek and Liz Gregorski all contributed seven kills.
2. DEFENSIVE BADGERS: Wisconsin used strong defense to defeat Marquette. UW outblocked the Golden Eagles 12-3 behind a match-high eight blocks by transfer Carter Booth. UW also had two players record double-figure digs to finish with a 48-33 advantage in saves. Booth, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker who transferred from Minnesota at semester, teamed with Devyn Robinson (5 blocks) and Anna Smrek (4 blocks) to put up a Badger wall at the net. In the backcourt, Gulce Guctekin played two sets at libero, recording a match-high 13 digs. Orzol added 10 saves for the Badger defense while Izzy Ashburn just missed a double-double with nine digs.
3. BLOCKING BOOTH: Minnesota transfer Carter Booth wasted no time making her mark in her Wisconsin debut on Friday. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker tallied a match-high eight blocks while also earning the third-highest hitting percentage in the match, going .385 (7-2-13) in her first game in the Cardinal and White.
4. WELCOME BACK SYD: Badger All-American setter Sydney Hilley makes her return to the Field House after graduating from Wisconsin in December of 2020. The four-time All-American setter has been apart of the Athletes Unlimited roster since December of 2022, where she just recently signed to be a part of the leagues' spring tour. Hilley currently holds the school record for most assists in a career with 6,138 helpers. She also holds the Wisconsin record for most matches played with 148 matches under her belt from 2017-21.
5. HART ON TO PROS: One of the most recent Wisconsin Volleyball alums, Danielle Hart, was drafted to play in the Athletes Unlimited Professional Volleyball league in March. Hart finished up her final season with UW, leading the Badgers in blocks per set in 2022, averaging 1.51 per set to rank her as fifth nationally. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker also made her mark on the Wisconsin career record lists, ranking fourth in hitting percentage at .362 and ninth in blocks per set with 1.19.
6. SCOUTING ATHLETES UNLIMITED: The Badgers welcome Athletes Unlimited to the unlimited. AU, which is a new professional league in the U.S., is in the midst of a 2023 exhibition tour. Athletes Unlimited is 2-0-1 so far on its exhibition tour, splitting with Ohio State (1-1) while defeating Kentucky (3-0), and Louisville (3-2). AU will also play at Minnesota Tuesday night. Athletes Unlimited faces nine different collegiate volleyball teams and will visit two youth tournaments over a span of four weeks.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ VolleyballThursday, December 18
Wednesday, December 17
Tuesday, December 16
Sunday, December 14
