MADISON — The No. 1 Wisconsin volleyball team beat No. 24 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon at the UW Field House in a five-set battle. The Badgers won the home opener 25-16, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 15-13.
Wisconsin got off to a strong start in the first set, with a 5-0 serving run from Julia Orzol to go up 6-3. After dropping one point, MJ Hammill came into the match and ran six-straight serves, as the Badgers took a commanding lead,12-4. Through the two service runs, Sarah Franklin tallied five kills. Tennessee then strung together a few of their own runs and brought it within two points (15-17). From there, the Badgers took control and only allowed the Volunteers one more point, taking the set 25-16. UW finished the first set with 18 kills.
The Badgers earned a 25-23 second set win and went up 2-0 in the match, but Tennessee fought back and took the next two sets, to force five sets.
The Badgers came out strong in the final frame and scored four straight points, and took a commanding 6-1 lead. Carter Booth came alive with two blocks and a kill in that six-point span. Tennessee came back to tie it up at 10-all. It was a back-and-forth battle to the end. Julia Orzol had a service ace at 12-all to take the lead (13-12). but Tennessee fought off one match point until Sarah Franklin put the match away with a kill on the outside.
Franklin led the way on offense with 23 kills. Devyn Robinson…
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