MADISON, Wis. – No. 2 seed Wisconsin volleyball team took down Fairfield 25-16, 25-16, 25-14 on Thursday night at the UW Field House in the First Round of the NCAA tournament. 

Senior Anna Smrek led the Badgers with 14 kills, with Sarah Franklin was not far behind at 12. As a team, UW hit .433 (48 kills - 9 errors - 90 attempts). 

Fairfield's Mamie Krubally and Svenja Rodenbusch led the Stags with seven kills each, as a team they hit .120 (29 - 18 - 92) on the night. 

Both teams came out swinging, as Fairfield (21-12) earned a service ace on the first point of the match. The teams went kill-for-kill until the Badgers (24-6) pulled away from the eight-all tie with a kill from Devyn Robinson and a service ace from CC Crawford. The Badgers built upon that momentum and unleashed an 8-1 run to give them a 21-12 lead. The Stags scored just four more points as UW took set one 25-16.

Once again, Fairfield kept it close early before Wisconsin put it out of reach. The Stags went on a 5-2 run to tie it at seven-all early in the second set. The Badgers responded with four-straight points to prompt a Fairfield timeout as they trailed 7-11. The Stags got it within three, but the Badgers stepped on the gas and extended their lead to 18-10, backed by three kills from Anna Smrek and two Badger blocks. The teams traded points back and forth, but that was not going to be enough for the Stags as UW took set two 25-16. 

The third set was highlighted by two service aces from Juila Orzol within a 6-0 run to give UW a 10-5 advantage. The Stags chipped away, capitalizing off two service errors from UW and a Fairfield kill to make it a four-point game (12-8). A kill from Orzol followed by a service ace from Saige Damrow prompted a Fairfield timeout at 20-11. The Badgers closed it out with back-to-back kills from Franklin to win it 25-14. 

Straight from the court 

Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On the team's efforts tonight: "There's nothing like this time of year. Playing in the NCAA Tournament and to be able to do it at home in the Field House is just really really special. Congratulations to Fairfield on one heck of a season. They came into the tournament as a gritty bunch and gave a lot of different looks with serve receive patterns and in transitions — a lot of different personnel in there. It can be a challenging type of team to play against. Really happy with how we came out here and played our game and executed. We got a little bit better each set, and that's certainly a goal of ours."

On setter Charlie Fuerbringer's performance: "I thought Charlie set a really nice match. We controlled the ball and kept her in the pocket a lot, and that allows you to be able to spread it out. She executed the game plan really, really well. They were working to get open and get good shots."

Middle blocker Carter Booth 
On settling in during tournament play: "I think some of our more seasoned girls were pretty settled. There's always going to be an element of nervousness and excitement with the tournament, especially if it's your first time experiencing it. I know some of our freshmen were getting the sweaty palms but they worked that stuff out pretty quick, and I feel like as a whole we just went out there with a mission, knowing that we had a goal to just play good volleyball."

Opposite Anna Smrek
On setting up the offense: "They were doing a bunch of different stuff and it felt a little bit chaotic, so it took us a little bit to slow down and find our rhythm. And then once all that came together systematically, we just kind of took off and like Kelly [Sheffield] said, just kind of chipping away as the match went on."

Notes to know 

• The Badgers improve 26-1 in the NCAA First Round, and 68-28 overall with the sweep over Fairfield.
• The 3-0 sweep over the Stags marks the 16th time this season the Badgers have swept their opponent.
• For the 17th time in 2024, Wisconsin hit .300 or better (48 – 9 – 90), and the seventh match hitting .400 or better.
• Freshman Lola Schumacher returned to starting Libero for Wisconsin. Schumacher was out for three matches due to injury, then returned for two as a defensive specialist.
• Schumacher returned with a match-high 14 digs.
• Junior Gulce Guctekin returned to action in the second set of the match. Guctekin has missed the last five matches due to injury.
• Senior opposite Anna Smrek set a season-best  .684 (48 -9 – 90) hitting percentage. She hit .609 against UCLA on November 16.
• Wisconsin reached double-digit block totals (10.5)  for the 19th time this season and sixth consecutive match with double-figure block totals.
• For the 24th straight match and 28th match this season, outside hitter Sarah Franklin tallied double-digit kills (12).

Up next
The Badgers will play No. 7 Georgia Tech on Friday night at the UW Field House in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament. The match will be broadcasted on ESPN+.