MADISON, Wis. — The No. 9 Badgers put down 14 blocks en route to a 25-15, 25-11, 25-15 sweep against Maryland at the UW Field House on Friday night.
CC Crawford tallied nine blocks, as Anna Smrek added five. Sarah Franklin led the team offensively with 11 kills, as the team hit .333 (33 kills – 8 errors – 75 attempts).
Maryland (10-6, 1-4 B1G) hit .043 (27 – 23 – 92) on the night, as Samantha Schnitta put up a team-high nine kills.
Smrek got the Badgers (10-4, 4-1 B1G) going out of the gate with two-straight kills. The Badgers used that momentum to take a 7-2 lead. Maryland responded with a 5-1 run to bring it back within one (8-7). Charlie Fuerbringer put down two service aces in the Badgers’ five-point run to force a Maryland timeout as they trailed 8-14. The Badgers maintained a steady lead, leading by as much as nine at 20-11. Wisconsin closed it out from there, taking the first set 25-15.
Once again, the Badgers got out to a quick start with a 4-1 lead, but the Terrapins climbed back in to tie at six-all. The teams traded points back and forth until Wisconsin went on a 8-0 run. Maryland burned both timeouts in hopes of slowing down the Badger run, and finally stopped them as UW led 18-10. The Terrapins scored just one more point, as the Badgers finished set two on a 15-2 run to finish it 25-11 with nine blocks in the frame.
An ace from Lola Schumacher and back-to-back kills from CC Crawford propelled the Badgers to an 8-2 lead and forced a Maryland timeout to kick off the third set. The Terrapins sided out after the timeout, but another service ace from Julia Orzol prompted another Terrapin timeout. Maryland brought it back within five, trailing 13-18. Wisconsin finished the set on a 6-1 run. The Badgers tallied three more aces in the set for six total. UW won the set, and match, 25-15.
Charlie Fuerbringer put up 29 helpers and chipped in with three blocks and a couple of service aces. The Badgers tallied 12 service aces for a season-best and ties for the third-most in a three set match, as Orzol tied a career-high with four of her own.
Orzol and Schumacher both recorded eight digs and Guctekin chipped in five.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
On defensive intensity: “Our blocking and backcourt defense was awfully good and that was an emphasis coming…
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