Badgers Take Battle of Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. – After trailing by as many as eight points in the third set, the sixth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team rallied to win the set and come out with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 win over No. 24 Marquette.  The Badgers’ momentum was kindled by an electric Field House after their 2021 NCAA Championship banner drop Friday night.
 
Junior Devyn Robinson stole the show for Wisconsin (2-1), scoring set point in the third period as well as the match-winning point.  Robinson hit a match-high .464 (15 kills – 2 errors – 28 attempts), sharing the team lead in kills with sophomore transfer Sarah Franklin.  Sophomore Julia Orzol added 13 kills to UW offense.

As a team, Wisconsin hit .256 (62 – 20 – 164) while holding Marquette to .212 (54-19-165). The Badgers edged the Golden Eagles on defense, outblocking their intra-state rival 8-6 and finishing with 74-70 advantage in digs.
 
Senior Izzy Ashburn continued her success by tallying a career-best 31 assists with MJ Hammil adding 20 helpers in running the UW 6-2 offense.
 
Junior Caroline Crawford put away a team-high five blocks while Anna Smrek (four blocks) and Robinson (three blocks) contributed to the offense. Freshman Gulce Guctekin and Hammill led the team with 14 digs apiece, both career highs, while Franklin added 11 saves. Both Hammill and Franklin recorded their second-straight double-double.

Wisconsin also got the edge from the service line, finishing with a 6-4 advantage behind two aces from Crawford.
 
The Badgers started the match off strong, winning the first set 25-21. Marquette (2-1) took the second set and led most of the third set, before Wisconsin slowly turned the game around. MU led by eight points early (13-5) and maintained a seven-point lead at 17-10 before UW began its comeback. The 8-1 run tied the set at 18 and the score was tied three more times, including at 21 before two Robinson kills completed the comeback.

Wisconsin jumped out to a 21-12 lead in the third set before Marquette started its own comeback. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to 23-21 before two straight Robinson kills put the match away.