Wisconsin volleyball wins Border Battle, sweeps Minnesota in front of national audience
MADISON – The Wisconsin volleyball team gave the state a split of Sunday’s border battle.
Fox presented the first NFL football/volleyball double-header on the network and in a bit of smart scheduling, made the event grudge matches featuring Wisconsin and Minnesota -- states that don’t take kindly to losing to the other in anything.
The afternoon started with the Vikings handing Green Bay a 24-10 loss in Minneapolis. It ended with the second-ranked Badgers sweeping the Gophers in front of a sellout crowd of 7,229 at the UW Field House.
The 25-13, 25-19, 25-20 victory was the Badgers' first match at home since falling to Nebraska on Oct. 21. That match drew 612,000 viewers on the Big Ten Network.
Fox's platform is bigger, which combined with the NFL lead-in, could result in an even larger audience.
“Playing in the Field House every gameday is a fun gameday,” UW senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin said. “But I think having it on Fox is something that is really going to push the sport forward and something that’s real exciting. I’m excited to see how much farther this is going to push volleyball.”
The win was Wisconsin’s fifth straight at home over the Gophers, who dropped to 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten with the loss. The Badgers raised their record to 20-1 and 11-1.
“I love the atmosphere. When Border Battle comes around, everyone shows out and shows up.”
Following No. 2 @BadgerVB's victory over Minnesota in the Border Battle, @sarahfrankk13 shares with @michellachester her thoughts on the atmosphere, the team, and what is next for… pic.twitter.com/Fj4UKAz2HU— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 29, 2023
Sarah Franklin's hot streak continues
Franklin recorded double-digit kills for the seventh straight match. She finished with 21 kills, one error and a .455 hitting percentage. She also had eight digs, four blocks and two aces.
Franklin led the way, but she got plenty of help. Senior Temi Thomas Ailara had nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage Senior Devyn Robinson added eight kills.
It was a bounce back performance for Thomas-Ailara and Robinson. After hitting -.357 at Michigan State on Friday, Thomas-Ailara's .368 hitting percentage was her best hitting in 15 days, a run of five matches. Robinson, whose hitting percentage has dipped since returning from a shoulder injury caused her to miss three matches, was also on her way to a high hitting percentage for the day – she was at .500 through two sets - before trailing off in the final set and dropping to .200.
UW was credited with just one serve receive error out of 48 chances.
“I thought our three passers (junior Julia Orzol, sophomore Gulce Guctekin and Franklin) did a really good job and just settled in as the match was going on and kept us in system for one of the best serving teams in the conference,” Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield said. “We were putting up a lot of really good balls and (setters) MJ (Hammill) and Izzy (Ashburn) I thought just did a really good job of running the offense tonight.”
Sophomore Carter Booth totaled four kills and tied senior Caroline Crawford for the team high with six blocks. Three players – Orzol (14), Gulce Gucteken (12) and Ashburn (11) finished with double digit digs.
Badgers post 15th match with over .300 hitting
Defensively UW helded the Gophers to .107 hitting, Reigning Big Ten player of the year Taylor Landfair finished with 12 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. The team’s other top attackers, Brookfield Central High School graduate McKenna Wucherer (five kills, -.059) and Lydia Grote (two kills, -.059) were also contained.
Minnesota has been ranked as high as fifth this season and received votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, but it was out-played Sunday.
The Badgers trailed only briefly early in the second period and hit over .300 (.327) in a match for the 15th time this season.
It was heck of a show for a packed house and national TV audience.
“I thought we played well and that is what you want to do any time you take the court, but there is a little bit something extra when you’re trying to grow the game and grow the sport and get more eyeballs on it," Sheffield said.
“What you can feel a little bit is you’ve got to go and execute. You’ve got to go and play the game and I thought the way they played today, I don’t know how you can watch that match and see the effort both teams were giving defensively, and the work and the athleticism and the strength and the environment itself and not say ‘Man I probably need to tune in more on this sport. I don’t know how you can watch that and not be hooked.'”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin volleyball claims Border Battle with sweep of Minnesota
