MADISON -- The Wisconsin volleyball team (6-0) swept the Arizona Wildcats (3-4), 25-17, 25-21, 25-20, at the UW Field House on Thursday night.

For her ninth straight match, dating back to last season, Sarah Franklin has hit in double figures. Franklin had a match-high in kills with 15. Devyn Robinson and Carter Booth both finished with nine kills. Temi Thomas-Ailara added seven while Anna Smrek put down six. Wisconsin hit .317 (47 kills - 14 errors - 104 attempts).

The Badgers held Arizona to .266 hitting percentage on the night (30 - 9 - 79). The Wildcats were led by Sofi Maldonado Diaz with 13 kills. 

Grad student Temi Thomas-Ailara tied the school record for aces in a three-set match with six aces on the night. MJ Hammill and Julia Orzol also contributed two aces and Izzy Ashburn tallied one ace. Ashburn is just two aces away from tying the school record (166) for aces. 

The Badgers outblocked Arizona 7.0-5.5, as CC Crawford put down five blocks. Robinson added three blocks. Ashburn and Hammill added 24 and 12 assists, respectively. 

Wisconsin took a commanding lead from the start, as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead. Robinson and Crawford collaborated for back-to-back blocks, as well as four kills for Franklin within that span. Arizona put together a 5-0 run to bring it back within three (13-10). From there, Wisconsin put it out of reach with a service run from Thomas-Ailara and took the first set, 25-17.

The second set was a tough battle, with seven ties and three lead changes. Franklin had seven kills in the frame, and Crawford put down three blocks. Wisconsin took control in the final stretch and won the set 25-21.

The final set was highlighted by a balanced offensive attack from Wisconsin, with all of the hitters contributing. It was a tight game, all tied up at 10-10 before Thomas-Ailara went on a 4-0 serving run with two aces within that, to go up 14-10. The Wildcats rallied to bring it back within three (20-17). The Badgers brought it home, with a 25-20 win, and took the match. 

Straight off the court 

Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On Temi's serves: "Obviously that serve's a real weapon for us, and not just the aces but the number of times she was able to get them out of system. I love unleashing that. … She's a fantastic player, she's really really talented, but happy to get out of here in three, especially with another match tomorrow."
On transfer players: "They've done what we'd expect them to do. They've been great players before coming here, and they've fit into the culture. They've worked hard and they made us better. What you're hoping is that they get as comfortable as quickly as possible, and they can be the best them that they can be."
Outside Temi Thomas-Ailara:
On the importance of her serve: "It gets them [opponents] out of system a little more, which makes it easier for our team to block. We have a really good blocking team, so simplifying their job is the key. Getting that block closed, allowing our team to play defense and then work in transition is important."
Middle CC Crawford: 
On bringing intensity each point: "The beginning part of the year we play challenging matches and we learn a lot as a team. I think we learned that we have to bring it every single point and that's something that we really addressed in today's game is just right off the bat, let's jump on them and bring that momentum."

Notes to know

• Senior Sarah Franklin has recorded 10-or-more kills in all six matches this season. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter had a match-high 15 kills. Franklin is just 11 kills away from 1,000 putaways for her career. 
• Grad student Temi Thomas-Ailara tied a UW record with six service aces in a 3-set match. The Badgers had 11 aces in the match, which ties for third on the UW single-match record list for 3 sets. 
• Wisconsin hit better than .300 for the fifth time this season. The Badgers connected on .317% (47-14-104) against the Wildcats. UW is hitting .322% on the season. 
• The Badgers are 6-0 to kick off the season, the fifth time in the last 11 years under head coach Kelly Sheffield that UW is 6-0 or better. It's the best start since an 8-0 start in 2021. 
• The Badgers have now out-blocked their opponents in all six matches (65-34) so far this season.

Up next

The Badgers will be right back in action tomorrow night at the UW Field House as they take on Miami at 7 p.m. The game will broadcasted in B1G+.