MADISON, Wis. -- No. 2 Wisconsin (28-4 in 2022) opens the 2023 season on the road at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Minneapolis this weekend. The Badgers face No. 15 Baylor (25-7) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and TCU on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. from Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus. Both matches air live on Big Ten Network.Â
1. BADGERS SWEEP FLAMES: Wisconsin
 swept UIC 25-13, 25-12, 25-18 in an exhibition on Saturday afternoon in the UW Field House. The two teams also played a fourth set with Wisconsin winning 25-19. The Badgers dominated the match at the net, hitting .284 (38 kills - 15 errors - 81 attempts) for the first three sets while holding UIC to negative .051 (17-21-78). The Badgers saved their best for last, hitting .405 (19-4-37) in the fourth set.
2. BADGER BLOCK:Â Â Wisconsin was one of the nation's best blocking teams in 2022, ranking second with 3.08 blocks per set. Junior Caroline Crawford ranked second on the team with 1.43 blocks per set, which ranked 14th nationally and sixth in the conference.
Anna Smrek and
Devyn Robinson are not far behind, with 1.11 and 1.08 blocks per set, respectively. Transfers
Carter Booth and
Temi Thomas-Ailara will add to the Badgers strong front line, as Booth ranked fifth in the Big Ten last season, averaging 1.48 blocks per set.Â
3. FIRE POWER: Wisconsin returns a balanced offensive attack with four hitters averaging 1.6 or more kills per set. Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Franklin led the team and ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 3.51 kills per set. Junior
Devyn Robinson chipped in 2.69 kills per set and sophomore Julia Orzoł added 2.44 kills per set. Right-side hitter
Anna Smrek chipped in 1.66 kills per set. Transfer Temi Thomas ranked second in the Big Ten last season with 4.33 kills per set while Carther Booth averaged 2.02 kills per set in 2022. UW also returns three players who hit better than .300 last season. Smrek and Robinson both hit .318. Middle blocker Caroline Crawford connected on .305 percent of her attacks. Booth ranked fourth in the Big Ten, hitting .360.
4. LEADING THE BIG TEN: Wisconsin led the Big Ten in three team statistical categories during the 2022 season. In all matches, the Badgers led the conference with a team hitting percentage of .267 and 18.00 points per game. Wisconsin also ranked second in hitting percentage allowed (.146), blocks per set (3.08) and blocks allowed per set (1.87). In Big Ten matches, UW led the conference with 18.44 points per set while it ranked second in hitting percentage (.264), kills per set (13.80), assists per set (12.76) and service aces per set (1.66).
5. SERVING STRONG: In Big Ten matches, the Badgers set a school record under 25-point rally scoring with 118 service aces. Wisconsin's 1.67 aces per set ranks third on the season record list. Senior
Izzy Ashburn led the Badgers and ranked 10th in the Big Ten with 0.32 aces per set. Junior
MJ Hammill added 0.32 aces per set and sophomore Julia Orzoł chipped in 0.30 aces per set. In all matches, Wisconsin averaged 1.67 service aces per set, which ranked second in the Big Ten and ranks second on the UW season record list. UW also allowed just 1.02 service aces per set, which ranked third in the Big Ten. Individually,
MJ Hammill ranked seventh with 0.34 aces per set while Guctekin (0.32) and Ashburn (0.32) also score well from the service line.
6. WISCONSIN RANKED SECOND: Wisconsin opens the season ranked second in the
AVCA Top-25 Preseason Coaches poll. Reigning national champion Texas (28-1 in 2022) opens the season ranked first. The Badgers (28-4) follow in second while Stanford (27-5) and Louisville (31-3) are ranked third and fourth, respectively. Nebraska (26-6) and Pittsburgh (31-4) are tied for fifth. The Big Ten leads the poll with six teams in the top 16, including four in the top 10. Wisconsin has been ranked in the AVCA national poll for 152 consecutive polls, including the last 55 straight polls in the top 10.
