Serving up six: Badgers play at Fiserv Forum

MADISON, Wis. — No. 1 Wisconsin (7-0) wraps up the non-conference season with back-to-back road matches. The Badgers travel to Milwaukee to take on Marquette (2-5) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. from Fiserv Forum. The match airs live on FS1. On Sunday, UW faces its toughest road match of the season, traveling to No. 3 Florida (7-0). First serve is at 2 p.m. CT, live on ESPN2.


1. JOIN US BEFORE THE MATCH: Join us from 5-7 p.m., on Wednesday at the Mecca Sports Bar & Grill in the Deer District for a pre-match Pep Rally presented by UW Credit Union. Admission is free. Badger fans will enjoy music and giveaways as well as an appearance from Bucky Badger. A food drive stage will be outside Fiserv Forum as the Badgers are partnering with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, and fans are encouraged to donate any non-perishable items. 

2. RECORD BREAKER: Wisconsin drew a then-NCAA regular-season record crowd of 16,833 in the Kohl Center against Florida on Sept. 16, 2022. That was the largest crowd to watch a women’s athletic event in the state of Wisconsin. The Fiserv Forum match should break that record.

3. HAMMER TIME: UW has hit better than .300 in six of seven matches this season while just missing .300 in a five-set match at Arkansas on Aug. 30 at .295. The Badgers lead the Big Ten and rank seventh nationally at .324. Individually, Carter Booth ranks second in the Big Ten at .500 while Anna Smrek  ranks fifth at .428. Devyn Robinson comes in at No. 9 in the conference, hitting .390.

4. ACE QUEEN: Grad student Izzy Ashburn has 165 career service aces, needing one ace to move into a tie for first on the UW career record list. Margie Kaminski (1984-87) holds the record with 166 service aces.

5. COUNTING DOWN TO 1K: Senior Sarah Franklin is counting down to 1,000 career kills, needing two putaways to reach the grand mark. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter has 998 career kills and has recorded double-figure kills in six of seven matches this season. She leads the Badgers and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 3.96 kills per set.

6. FINDING HER STRIDE: Grad student Temi Thomas-Ailara turned up her play last week, averaging 3.27 kills and 1.00 service aces per set. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter tied a UW record with six aces against Arizona on Sept. 7.