WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 8 Wisconsin volleyball team earned a key road win, taking down No. 10 Purdue 25-20, 25-23, 25-13 on Saturday afternoon.
The Badgers (15-4, 9-1 B1G) tallied 15.0 blocks, with Carter Booth recording nine and Anna Smrek adding five.
Offensively, Smrek led the squad with 12 kills and Sarah Franklin not far behind with 10. As a team UW only hit .186 (39 kills – 17 errors – 118 attempts).
The Badgers held Purdue (16-5, 7-3 B1G) to just .089 (33 – 23 – 112) with outside hitter Eva Hudson putting up a match-high 17 kills.
Set one began with a back and forth battle. The Boilermakers took a slight edge over UW, leading 5-3. A kill from Carter Booth sent Charlie Fuerbringer back to the service line for an 11-0 service run for the Badgers. The run included two aces, four kills, a Badger block and three attack errors from Purdue’s Eva Hudson. The run ended on a service error by Fuerbringer, but the Badgers grabbed a commanding 16-7 lead. The Boilermakers slowly chipped away at the lead, forcing UW to take a timeout at 21-16. From there, the Badgers closed out set one with a 25-20 victory.
The second set brought another serving run from Fuerbringer. The setter created some distance, as UW took a 10-6 lead off a 4-0 run. Purdue kept pushing, prompting a Wisconsin timeout, leading by just one point (15-14). Out of the timeout, the Badgers scored three-straight points and the Boilermakers took another timeout to slow down the run. The two teams traded points and Wisconsin reached set point, leading 24-19. The Boilermakers held off five set points and made it a one-point game at 24-23. Julia Orzol called game with a kill, winning set two 25-23.
In the final set, Wisconsin got rolling right away and Purdue couldn’t find an answer. The Badgers took the lead at 3-2 and didn’t lose it. Fuerbringer’s fourth ace of the day forced an early Boilermaker timeout, with UW leading 9-4. The Badgers extended their lead to as much as nine points (19-10). The deficit was too much for Purdue to overcome, and Wisconsin took the set and match 25-13.
In addition to her four aces, Fuerbringer put up 33 assists. Orzol led the team with 14 digs and Schumacher added 11.
Notes to know
• Badgers recorded it’s ninth-straight victory with the 3-0 sweep over No. 10 Purdue.
• The Badgers recorded its seventh-straight double-digit block totals. Wisconsin stuffed the Boilermakers 15.0 times compared to Purdue’s seven.
• This marks the seventh time where Wisconsin held it’s opponent under .100 hitting percentage. The Badgers held Purdue to a .089 hitting percentage (33 kills – 23 errors – 112 attempts).
• Senior Julia Orzol collected 14 digs, the seventh time this season where Orzol tallied double figure digs totals.
• The Badgers improve 53-35 overall against Purdue.