Wisconsin Badgers
MADISON, WI (UW-Madison-WSAU) — In front of a fired up UW Field House crowd, the No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team beat Penn State, 25-11, 28-30, 25-12, 25-18, in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Thursday night.
It was all tied up at 3-3, until a kill from Carter Booth kicked off a 5-0 run from the Badgers (29-3) and forced an early Penn State (23-9) timeout to start the first set. The Nittany Lions sided out after the timeout, and the two teams traded points back and forth to make it 11-7 in favor of the Badgers. A quick UW 3-0 run was halted by a kill from Hannah Camryn. However, Wisconsin responded with a 10-1 run, including back-to-back blocks from Booth and Devyn Robinson to give the Badgers a 21-8 advantage. From there, the Badgers closed it out on a kill from Temi Thomas-Ailara, taking the first set 25-11.
After the Badgers ran away with set one, Penn State came out in set two with more intensity. Wisconsin grabbed the lead from the jump, but Penn State remained in striking distance until they were able to tie it up at 17-all. A kill by Robinson gave UW set point at 24-23, but Penn State sided out. Wisconsin earned another set point at 25-24 but Penn State put another stop to it. The Badgers then fought off three set points after running out of subs before Penn State took the second set 30-28.
Wisconsin came out of the break strong and grabbed a quick 4-0 lead in the third set. Penn State battled back to bring it within one (8-7). A few points later, a 10-serve run from MJ Hammill gave Wisconsin a 20-8 lead, which propelled them to a 25-12 third set victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
It was tight to begin the fourth set, but a 9-0 serving run by Gulce Guctekin put UW up 18-7. The run was keyed by three Badger blocks, including a solo block from CC Crawford. Penn State called a timeout to stop the run, and they slowly started to chip away and got it within seven (21-14). Robinson responded immediately with her 10th kill of the night. Wisconsin allowed the Nittany Lions just three more points, and the Badgers won the set and match, 25-18.
Wisconsin had a balanced offensive attack with four hitters in double figures. Sarah Franklin led the way with 15 kills while her partner on the outside, Thomas-Ailara, added 11 kills. Robinson and Booth each tallied 10 kills. Wisconsin finished the match with a clip of .268 (56 kills – 16 errors – 149 attempts).
Penn State was led by outside hitter Jess Mruzik, who shared match-high honors with 15 kills. The Nittany Lions hit .082 (48 – 35 – 159).
Wisconsin dominated on the block with 17 team blocks, compared to Penn State’s four. Crawford put down 10 total blocks as Booth followed with seven. Robinson and Smrek recorded five stuffs apiece.
Libero Julia Orzol posted a match-high 16 digs, and her partner in the back row Guctekin added 14.
Izzy Ashburn put up 22 assists, as MJ Hammill paired 20 assists with 14 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.
The Badgers will face Oregon on Saturday. The Ducks swept Purdue in the other match on Thursday.
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