Wisconsin Badgers
LINCOLN, Neb. — The No. 1 Wisconsin volleyball team puts up 18 blocks, but ultimately falls in a five-set thriller to No. 2 Nebraska 22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 13-15.
Nebraska (19-0, 9-0 B1G) took set number one after the Badgers (18-1, 8-1 B1G) battled back from down 18-13. UW forced a timeout at 24-22 after holding off two set points. Nebraska took the first frame, 25-22.
The Wisconsin block took over in set two with 12 blocks. UW opened the set with back-to-back blocks from the combination of Devyn Robinson and Carter Booth. Nebraska tied it up at five apiece, but a kill from Sarah Franklin put the Badgers ahead and they took off from there. CC Crawford and Robinson recoreded six blocks each in the rest of the set and propelled the Badgers to a 25-17 second set victory.
The third set began as an evenly matched battle, but the Badgers jumped out to an 11-5 lead and forced a Nebraska timeout. UW continued momentum, maintaining a steady lead throughout. A hitting error from Nebraska gave Wisconsin a 20-11 lead. The Cornhuskers battled back to get it within three at 23-20, but the Badgers remained calm and took the third set, 25-20 and take a 2-1 set lead.
The fourth set was filled with ties and lead changes, but Nebraska jumped ahead at 17-14. The Badgers responded with a 7-1 run to take a 21-18 lead behind a kill from Temi Thomas-Ailara. Nebraska rallied back to tie it up at 24-all. The Cornhuskers scored two consecutive kills and took the fourth set, 26-24 forcing a fifth set, winner take all.
In a race to 15 points, Wisconsin was the first to eight fueled by a kill from Thomas-Ailara down the line. A missed serve from Nebraska gave Wisconsin a 10-8 lead. Nebraska sided out immediately, but Anna Smrek responded with a kill and forced a Nebraska timeout. Another missed serve from Nebraska gave Wisconsin a 12-10 advantage. Nebraska went on a 5-1 run to win the set 15-13, breaking Wisconsin’s 10-straight victories over the Cornhuskers.
Franklin continued to dominate in the front row, leading the Badgers with 17 kills. Robinson and Thomas-Ailara also finished in double figures with 10 kills apiece. Wisconsin hit .217 (52 kills – 18 errors – 157 attempts) on the night.
Nebraska hit .130 (69 – 44 – 193) as Merritt Beason led the Cornhuskers with 21 kills.
Wisconsin had a season-high 18.0 blocks with nine apiece from both Booth and Crawford.
MJ Hammill and Izzy Ashburn put up 18 and 25 helpers, respectively. Hammill added 11 digs for a double-double. Julia Orzol had a match-high 18 digs. Gulce Guctekin recorded 11 digs.
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