No. 7 Badgers were defeated by No. 2 Huskers

MADISON, Wis. – The No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team struggled to find an answer to the Huskers as they defeated 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). Sarah Franklin He is at the top with a game-high 16 kills.

Nebraska (21-1, 11-0 B1G) hit .202 (40-19-104) with outside hitter Taylor Landfair posting a team-high 13 kills.

From the start it was a tough battle with the teams fighting back and forth. Neither team led by more than two points until a service ace from Nebraska gave them an 18-15 lead. The Badgers called a timeout to stop the Husker run. After halftime, UW was tied, but Nebraska scored three more points and forced another Wisconsin timeout as they trailed 17-21. From there, Nebraska finished the game 25-21.

After another close start to the second set, the Huskers opened up the gap with a 4-0 run, which then increased to 12-7 and resulted in a UW timeout. Anna Smrek He scored a kill outside of the timeout and Nebraska immediately responded with a kill from Merritt Beason. The Badgers trailed 9-13 before going on a 10-2 run to grab a 17-14 lead. The run was highlighted by consecutive blocks CC Crawford on two different occasions, for a total of four blocks. The Huskers recovered and tied the score at 19-19. A 4-0 run that gave Nebraska set point discouraged the Badgers as the Huskers won the second set 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead in the game.

Nebraska picked up right where they left off in the second set with a 4-1 run including two aces that led to an early UW timeout. The Badgers tied the score at 9-10 and secured another point on a kill from Franklin when Nebraska took a timeout trailing 9-10. A fourth set was within reach for the Badgers until Nebraska beat them with a 5-0 run to win the set and match 25-19.

Charlie Fuerbringer scored 28 assists. Gulce Guctekin led the team with nine digs. The Huskers outscored UW 10-5-9.0, with CC Crawford put down six of his own.

Straight from the court

Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On Nebraska's piece: “I thought they did a great job finishing the sets much better than we did. Their serve put quite a bit of pressure on us and they did a very effective job of varying the levels and I think our passers felt a little bit. “I thought they were excellent defensively and I thought , we would have fought, but during the rallies I often had the feeling that 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, be ready to play every single game, be hungry, be humble and just go to work.”

Outside attacker Sarah Franklin
About the insights from the game: “I think as long as we learn from it and take it to heart and not let people tell us the same thing over and over again. We are an experienced team, but that also includes the ability to act and be like that. “We can develop over a season and grow in other aspects, maybe outside of volleyball, maybe on the court, maybe we can do different things to give us that lead. Well, we don't have that. I think it would be a big thing to look for things outside of that and outside of ourselves.

Middle blocker Devyn Robinson
How to proceed: “To stay hungry. I mean, this game hurt. You know, we have a few things we can figure out, and that just brings us closer as a team, figuring out how we can get better, how we can socialize more, how we can strengthen ourselves. “Getting out of holes like that.” , simply opens up new ways for us to get better together.

Notes on knowledge

• This is the first time all season that Wisconsin has remained below a .100 batting average. The Badgers hit just .094 (35 kills – 24 errors – 117 total attacks).
• The loss to Nebraska at UW Field House is the Badgers' first loss in 25 games. The last defeat came in the regional final against Pittsburgh in 2022.
• Fifth grader CC Crawford led the Badgers in blocks for the sixth time this season.
• Outside attacker Sarah Franklin posted a match-high 16 kills. She has now reached the double-digit kill mark 17 times this season and 11 times^Th-Straight match.
• Nebraska is 21-13-1 all-time against the Badgers and it is the Huskers' first win at UW Field House since 2013.

Next

The Badgers will travel to Illinois to play on Sunday afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on B1G+.