Serving up six: Non-conference finale at No. 3 Florida

MADISON, Wis. — No. 1 Wisconsin (8-0) wraps up the non-conference season with its toughest road match of the season, traveling to No. 3 Florida (8-0). First serve is at 2 p.m. live on ESPN.


1. RECORD BREAKER: Wednesday’s match vs. Marquette at the Fiserv Forum drew a NCAA indoor regular-season record of 17,037. Wisconsin has now been a part of the top-two regular-season indoor crowds in NCAA history.

2. HITTERS GONNA HIT: UW has hit better than .300 in six of eight matches this season, leading the Big Ten and ranking eighth nationally at .311. Individually, Carter Booth ranks second in the Big Ten and 13th nationally at .468 while Anna Smrek ranks fifth in the conference at .429.

3. ACE IN HER VEINS: With two service aces at Marquette, grad student Izzy Ashburn broke the UW career record for service aces. The 5-foot-11 setter has 167 service aces in her career.

4. SARAH FRAN”1K”LIN: With her second kill in the first set at Marquette, senior Sarah Franklin recorded her 1,000th career kill. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter has recorded double-figure kills in seven of eight matches this season. She leads the Badgers and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 3.93 kills per set. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter had 503 kills in two seasons at Michigan State and has 495 kills as a Badger. 

5. ALL-AROUND WEAPON: Junior Julia Orzol recorded a career high 23 digs against Marquette on Wednesday. The 6-foot versatile player has started five matches at libero and three matches at outside hitter. She currently leads the Badgers with 3.43 digs per set, recording 10-plus digs in seven matches this season. Orzol also shares the team lead with 10 service aces, averaging 0.33 aces per set.

6. HEATIN’ UP: Junior Anna Smrek had an impressive match at Marquette, sharing team-high honors with 15 kills, a season high, including seven kills in the decisive fourth set. She also tied her career high with five digs. On the season, the 6-foot-9 right-side hitter ranks third on the team with 2.40 kills per set while ranking second with a .429 hitting percentage.