(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The No. 9 Wisconsin volleyball team totaled 70 digs en route to a 25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19 win over No. 11 Oregon at the UW Field House on Friday night.
The Badgers (12-4, 6-1 B1G) had five players with double figure digs, as Lola Schumacher led the team with 19. Sarah Franklin totaled 12, Gulce Guctekin and Charlie Fuerbringer tallied 11 and Julia Orzol rounded it out with 10.
Franklin tallied a match-high 17 kills, as UW hit .243 (52 kills – 18 errors – 140 attempts) on the night.
Oregon (13-3, 5-2 B1G) hit .167 (48 – 23 – 150) with outside hitter Mimi Colyer just one shy of Franklin with 16 kills.
The Badgers got off the quick start with three-straight kills to start the first set. Oregon sided out, but the Badgers responded with another kill and an ace from Schumacher to go up 5-1. The Ducks scored four-straight points to tie it up at five-all, and didn’t back down. The teams battled back and forth, exchanging ties and lead changes. A kill from Devyn Robinson tied it up at 17-all, and jump started a 9-2 run to finish off the set. Fuerbringer sealed the deal with an ace at set point, as the Badgers took set one 25-19.
The Ducks tallied two service aces early in the second set and nabbed an early 9-5 lead. The Badgers fought their way back in with a 6-1 run to tie it up at 12-all. From there, the teams traded two points back and forth. Oregon called a timeout at 20-all and out of that timeout went on a 5-1 run to win the second frame 25-21.
After an even start to the third set, Wisconsin went on a 4-0 run fueled by kills from Orzol, Fuerbringer and Robinson to take a 7-4 lead. The Ducks only brought it within two points for the remainder of the set, as Wisconsin maintained a stable lead. Carter Booth secured the set three 25-19 win with a kill out of the middle.
The Badgers took control of set four thanks to a Franklin and Robinson 5-0 run, which prompted an Oregon timeout, as UW led 11-4 in the fourth set. Oregon brought it back within five at 13-8, but back-to-back kills from Orzol pushed the Badgers back ahead by seven (16-9). Wisconsin closed out set four, and the match, 25-19.
Three Badger players recorded double-doubles, with Franklin and Orzol on the outside. Fuerbringer notched 41 assists to go along with her 11 digs.
The Badgers just barely edged the Ducks in blocks, 10-9.5, as Robinson tallied four.
The Badgers had five service aces, as Fuerbringer totaled two. Oregon recorded nine aces on the night.
Straight from the court
Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On the overall match: “There were two teams out there battling hard, it was tough. We came out a little jittery, the energy of the match got to us a little early. We settled down, and got better as the match went on. When you play a team that serves as well as they do, and defend as well as they do, patience and explosiveness are important. We did a good job of covering our hitters, getting more swings, and extending rallies. We can only do that if we are staying present. Really good win against a really good team.”
Kelly on coming back in the first set: “We played better defense. Our serve, our block, and our backcourt were almost playing a three way tug of war. When we’re working together, it feels like we’re going downstream instead of up. We got better at the service line also, overall our serving has got better, we’re a lot cleaner. They were putting in some nasty serves for us to battle, but halfway through the first set we started playing a lot better.”
Outside Sarah Franklin
On the defense: “The grittiness of this team is something that we pride ourselves on. Being ready to go get any ball as we were developing in the match I felt like the block was getting really good set ups and we were lining up good behind them and that just goes to show how dedicated everyone is to making that play.”
Outside Julia Orzol
On practice this week: “I feel like the huge emphasis was our defense and how blocking and back row work together. It’s just so cool so see how it functions.”
Notes to know
- The Badgers had five in double-figure digs, Lola Schumacher (19), Sarah Franklin (12), Gulce Guctekin (11), Charlie Fuerbringer (11), and Julia Orzol (10).
- With 17 kills and 12 digs, fifth year senior Sarah Franklin recorded her sixth double-double of the season and 32nd in her career.
- With 41 assists and 11 digs, Fuerbringer tallied her fifth double-double of the season.
- Senior Julia Orzol recorded her third career double-double and 12th of her career with 10 kills and 10 digs.
- For the fourth-straight match, the Badgers tallied double-figure blocks (10.0).
Up next
The Badgers will take the road for two matches, playing at Indiana on Thursday night at 6 p.m. and at No. 10 Purdue on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
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