Izzy Ashburn sets the ball in match at Ohio State
Ashley Steltenpohl
3
Winner Wisconsin Wisc 12-0,3-0 Big Ten
0
Ohio St. OSU 4-8,1-2 Big Ten
Winner
Wisconsin Wisc
12-0,3-0 Big Ten
3
Final
0
Ohio St. OSU
4-8,1-2 Big Ten
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Wisconsin Wisc 25 25 25 (3)
Ohio St. OSU 19 20 18 (0)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Ellie Culver

No. 1 Wisconsin cracks the Buckeyes

Balanced offensive attack leads to sweep

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 1 Wisconsin volleyball team remains undefeated, winning their 12th straight set on Wednesday night in a three-set sweep at No. 22 Ohio State. The Badgers (12-0, 3-0 B1G) downed the Buckeyes, 25-19, 25-20, 25-18. 

Wisconsin had an offensively balanced attack behind Sarah Franklin recording a team-high 11 kills. Temi Thomas-Ailara found her stride again, finishing the night with 10 kills. Anna Smrek added eight and Devyn Robinson tallied six kills. Wisconsin hit .316 (44 kills - 13 errors - 98 attempts).

The Badgers held Ohio State (4-8, 1-2) to just .141 (27 - 14 - 92). Outside hitter Emily Londot had a match-high with 13 kills for the Buckeyes. 

Wisconsin continued their impressive serving campaign with eight service aces in the three-set match. Franklin, CC Crawford and Gulce Guctekin each tallied two aces apiece. The Badgers gave up five aces by OSU.

UW outblocked the Buckeyes 9-4 as Carter Booth contributed a match-high eight blocks. Smrek finished with five stuffs and Robinson added four blocks. 

MJ Hammill and Izzy Ashburn spread the love tonight, recording 20 and 19 helpers, respectively. Julia Orzol finished the match with 11 digs, a match-high. 

Set one got off to a tight start. An ace from Ohio State brought the Buckeyes within two (10-8) but that was as close as it would get it. Crawford took off on a 4-0 serving run and the Badgers maintained a convincing lead to ultimately take the first frame, 25-19. 

The comeback kids' story continued in the second set. The Badgers fell behind 8-3 to start the set but pulled within two at 9-7. Ohio State pulled ahead again on a 3-0 run before a UW 6-0 serving run from Izzy Ashburn, highlighted by kills from Robinson, Booth and Thomas-Ailara, tied the set at 14-all. Wisconsin broke a 17-17 tie with a 4-0 run, putting the set on ice and give UW a 2-0 lead in the match. 

UW started the third set down 3-0, but quickly turned things around, thanks to a 6-0 service run from Guctekin. Ohio State put the pressure on and trailed by one at 10-9 but two kills from Thomas-Ailara and an ace from Crawford forced a Buckeye timeout at 13-9. The Badgers extended their lead to eight (22-14) and completed the sweep with a 25-18 win. 

Notes to know

  • Wisconsin extends its Big Ten winning streak to 21 matches, dating back to the 2022 season.
  • The Badgers extend their set-winning streak to 12, their longest of the season.
  • Wisconsin also improves to 6-0 against top-25 ranked teams this season.
  • UW's 12-0 start is the second-best in program history, trailing only the 16-0 start in 2020.
  • The Badgers hit .316 for the match, its eighth match this season over .300.
  • With nine blocks tonight, the Badgers have out-blocked every opponent so far this season.
  • Sophomore Carter Booth tallied eight blocks against the Buckeyes, one shy of her season high and her sixth-straight match with five-or-more blocks. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker has led UW in blocks in nine matches this season.
  • Junior Julia Orzol led all players with 11 digs, her sixth straight match with 10-plus saves.


Up next

Wisconsin returns home to the UW Field House to host Michigan (2-9, 0-2 B1G) on Sunday at 1 p.m. UW will recognize the 2013 NCAA runners-up between the second and thirs sets.

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