Back on track Badgers | Wisconsin Badgers

EVANSTON, Ill. — An efficient offensive attack led the No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team to a 25-16, 25-16, 25-15, sweep over Northwestern on Saturday night. 

Wisconsin (7-4, 1-1 B1G) hit .413 (40 kills – 9 errors – 75 attempts) on the night, as Sarah Franklin (11 kills), Devyn Robinson (nine kills) and Anna Smrek (eight kills) all hit above .500. 

UW held Northwestern (3-7, 1-1 B1G) to just .067, as three Wildcats: Alexa Rousseau, Buse Hazan and Lily Wagner, all tallied six kills.

After it was all tied up at three in set one, Wisconsin took the lead on a 5-1 run to double the Wildcat score at 8-4. But Northwestern responded with a 4-1 run, including three kills in a row to bring it back within one (9-8). From there, the Badgers ran away with it, establishing a 20-12 lead and forcing an NU timeout. An ace from Charlie Furbringer rounded out a four service ace first set, 25-16. 

It was all Carter Booth to start the second set, as she tabbed three blocks in the first three points. The Wildcats called an early timeout as they trailed 5-1. Wisconsin maintained a steady lead, as Northwestern struggled to find an answer to the UW balanced offensive attack. The Wildcats burned their second timeout of set two, behind 17-9. The deficit was too large for NU, as the Badgers hit .464 in set two, with the same result as set one, 25-16 in favor of UW. 

A much more evenly matched third set kept the Wildcats within striking distance until a 3-0 run forced Northwestern to take a preventative timeout in hopes of slowing down UW as it led 9-6. Northwestern continued to keep it close, until a 5-0…