Badger Volleyball Advances to 10th Straight NCAA Regional

MADISON, Wis. — For the 10th straight season, Wisconsin is heading to the NCAA Regionals. The second-ranked Badger volleyball team advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 25-9, 25-11, 25-23 win over TCU in second-round action on Saturday night.

UW used a strong serving game and tough blocking to shut down the Horned Frogs.

Wisconsin scored on six service aces, including two apiece from MJ Hammill and Caroline Crawford, while giving up only one ace.

The Badgers also outblocked TCU, 11-2, its fourth-straight match and 18th of the season with 10-or-more blocks. Danielle Hart led all players with five stuffs while Devyn Robinson and Julia Orzol both added four stops, including two block solos by Orzol.

UW edged the Horned Frogs 34-33 in kills but Wisconsin hit .395 (34-4-76) compared to just .051 (33-28-98) from TCU. Sarah Franklin was the only Badger in double-figure kills with a match-high 13 while Robinson and Anna Smrek both added six kills.

The Horned Frogs edged Wisconsin 35-33 in digs but freshman Gulce Guctekin led all players with a match-high 11 digs.

After Wisconsin dominated the first two sets, TCU challenged the Badgers in the third set with eight early ties, including at 9-9. Behind the service of Crawford, Wisconsin went on a 3-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. UW would up its lead to four (20-16) but TCU would make it just a two-point set at 23-21. The Badgers served for match point at 24-21 but the Horned Frogs would hold off two match points before a block from Franklin and Smrek extended Wisconsin’s season.

Straight from the court

Head coach Kelly Sheffield
“Against anybody that you’re playing is a team that’s fighting for their season. There can almost be a desperation that comes in those situations. You’re going to get the kitchen sink at times and I thought we did a really god job at just managing and moving on to the next play and responding.

“There’s a lot of things that are interconnected, from our serves to our block, to our backcourt. They’re working together really well and everybody believes it. Defense starts with a mentality first. Just refusing to let the ball hit the floor and it shows up in a lot of ways, like how we cover. There were quite a few rallies where we were just flying all over the place, refusing to just give up on a rally and give up on ourselves and our teammates.”

Izzy Ashburn
“This is just such an exciting time of the year to have the opportunity to earn another week to practice with such a special group. Every team is just fighting for that right now and every team is a good team so we have to come out ready. We have to come out prepared, play our best volleyball right now and grow, and that’s what i thought we did tonight. We executed what we wanted to.”

Sarah Franklin
“I just think its really exciting to be here, with the team and gritting it out every single weekend and being able to earn that so I am really excited for what’s to come and what more we can do for the rest of the season.”

Notes to know

• The Badgers will make their 10th-straight regional appearance under head coach Kelly Sheffield.
• Wisconsin extends its winning streak to 20, which ranks second on the UW record list and ties for second nationally. The school record is 22 straight wins set in 2014.
• With 13 kills tonight, Sarah Franklin tallied her 21st double-digit kill total of the season.
• UW totaled 11 blocks in the match, its 18th match this season with 10-or-more blocks.
• Freshman Gulce Guctekin has tallied double-figure digs in all eight matches since her return from a leg injury vs. Rutgers on Nov. 11.
• The Badgers improve to 62-24 in 25 years of NCAA tournament play, including an 18-5 record in the second round.
• TCU hit just .051 against the Badgers, the ninth opponent to hit less than .100 against UW this season.

Up Next

Wisconsin hosts NCAA Regional play on Thursday and Saturday in the UW Field House. Wisconsin will face Big Ten foe and 11th-ranked Penn State in the regional semifinals while No. 6 Pittsburgh takes on No. 12 Florida in other regional semifinal. Semifinal winners advance to the regional final on Saturday. Times and broadcast details will be released on Sunday.