Serving up six: Badgers hit the road for Arkansas

MADISON, Wis. — No. 1 Wisconsin (2-0) has a busy week ahead with three matches against ranked teams, including two matches on the road. The Badgers head to No. 21 Arkansas (2-0) for back-to-back matches on Wednesday and Thursday. First serve is at 7 p.m. both nights from Barnhill Arena. Wednesday’s match will be streamed on ESPN+ while Thursday’s match is live on ESPNU.

Wisconsin opens its home season on Sunday against No. 24 Tennessee (3-0). First serve is at 1 p.m. from the UW Field House. The Badgers will celebrate their 2022 Big Ten Championship with a banner drop in pre-match ceremonies.

1. NO. 1 WISCONSIN: The Badgers moved up to first in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches poll released Aug. 28. Wisconsin has been ranked first in the national poll 14 times, most recently after winning the 2021 NCAA Championship.



2. STARTING STRONG:  Wisconsin opened the 2023 season 2-0 with victories over No. 15 Baylor (3-1) and TCU (3-0) at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Minneapolis. The Badgers improve to 5-1 in three years of the Challenge. UW also improved to 36-14 all-time in season openers, including a 15-5 mark at neutral sites.



3. TOURNEY TEAM: Senior Devyn Robinson and sophomore Carter Booth were named the Big Ten/Big 12 All-Tournament team. Robinson averaged 3.29 kills per set while hitting .487. Booth led the Badgers with 1.43 blocks per set while adding 1.14 kills per set.

4. ACE QUEEN: Grad student Izzy Ashburn picked up three service aces on the weekend to bring her career total to 161. She needs five aces to move into a tie for first, a position currently held by Margie Kaminski (1984-87) with 166 service aces. The 5-foot-11 setter also picked up a double-double against Baylor with 22 assists and 10 digs, her seventh career double-double.



5. FRESH LOOKS: Wisconsin has used two different starting lineups so far this season. Against Baylor, Julia Orzol started her first career match at libero while Sarah Franklin and Temi Thomas-Ailara started on the left side. Against TCU, Gulce Guctekin started at libero while Orzol moved to the left side along with Franklin.

6. MAKING A STATEMENT: Two players made their Badger debut against Baylor on Friday as Carter Booth and Temi Thomas-Ailara both started the match. Booth, a middle blocker transfer from Minnesota, recorded six kills, one assist and three blocks while…