MADISON, Wis. – The No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team struggled to find an answer to the Huskers, as they swept UW 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 on Friday night at the UW Field House.
The Badgers (15-5, 9-2 B1G) hit just .094 (35 kills – 24 errors – 117 attempts) with Sarah Franklin leading the way with a match-high 16 kills.
Nebraska (21-1, 11-0 B1G) hit .202 (40 – 19 – 104), with outside hitter Taylor Landfair putting up a team-high 13 kills.
It was a grudge match out the gate, with the teams battling back and forth. Neither team led by more than two points until a Nebraska service ace gave them an 18-15 lead. The Badgers called a timeout to halt the Husker run. Out of the break, UW sided out but Nebraska scored three more points, forcing another Wisconsin timeout as they trailed 17-21. From there, Nebraska closed it out 25-21.
After another tight start to the second set, the Huskers created distance with a 4-0 run which then increased to 12-7 and prompting a UW timeout. Anna Smrek put down a kill out of the timeout, and Nebraska responded right back with a kill from Merritt Beason. The Badgers trailed 9-13 before going on a 10-2 run to snatch a 17-14 lead. The run was highlighted by back-to-back blocks from CC Crawford on two separate occasions, amounting to four blocks total. The Huskers rallied back to tie it up at 19-all. A 4-0 run to give Nebraska set-point deflated the Badgers, as the Huskers took set two 25-22, and go up 2-0 in the match.
Nebraska picked up right where they left off in set two with a 4-1 run including two aces, leading to an early UW timeout. The Badgers tied it back up at nine-all and tacked on another point off a kill from Franklin, as Nebraska called timeout trailing 9-10. A fourth set was within reach for the Badgers until Nebraska finished them off on a 5-0 run to end it, taking the set and match, 25-19.
Charlie Fuerbringer tallied 28 assists. Gulce Guctekin led the team with nine digs. The Huskers outblocked UW 10-5-9.0, with CC Crawford putting down six of her own.
Straight from the court
Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On Nebraska’s play: “I thought they did a great job of closing out sets quite a bit better than what we did. Their serving put quite a bit of pressure on us and they did a very effective job of varying planes and I think our passers felt a little bit of the stress. I thought they were excellent defensively and I thought we battled but a lot of times in the rallies I felt like we were on the defensive.”
On Big Ten intensity: “That’s one of the things that makes the Big Ten so good. Big Ten championships reward consistency. Match in, match out, being ready to play every single match, being hungry, humble just going to work.”
Outside hitter Sarah Franklin
On learning from the match: “I think as long as we are learning from this and we’re taking that to heart and not just being told the same things over and over again. We are a veteran team, but that comes with being able to act like that and being able to develop as a season long, and being able to stay hungry. To grow in other aspects, maybe outside of volleyball, maybe on the court, maybe different things that we can do to get that edge. Because right now, where we’re at, we don’t have that. So, searching for things outside of that and outside of ourselves, I think, would be a big thing.”
Middle blocker Devyn Robinson
On moving forward: “To stay hungry. I mean, that match hurt. You know, we got some stuff that we can figure out and it just brings us closer as a team in figuring out how to get better and how to connect more and how to dig ourselves out of holes like that. It just opens up new ways for us to get better with one another.”
Notes to know
- This marks the first time all season where Wisconsin was held under a .100 hitting percentage. The Badgers hit just .094 (35 kills – 24 errors – 117 total attacks).
- The loss to Nebraska at the UW Field House is the first loss the Badgers have suffered in 25 matches. The last loss came in 2022 in Regional Finals against Pittsburgh.
- Fifth year senior CC Crawford led the Badgers in blocks for the sixth time this season.
- Outside hitter Sarah Franklin tallied 16 kills for a match-high. She has now reached double-figure kill mark 17 times this season, and 11th-straight match.
- Nebraska moves to 21-13-1 all-time against the Badgers, and the first win the Huskers achieved at the UW Field House since 2013.
Up Next
The Badgers will hit the road to play at Illinois on Sunday afternoon. First serve is slated for 1 pm and will be broadcasted on B1G+.