MADISON, Wis. – Despite Penn State coming back to force a fifth set, the second-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team is still dancing in the NCAA tournament! The Badgers (27-3) are headed to the Elite Eight, defeating No. 11 Penn State 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25 on Thursday night in the UW Field House. Wisconsin faces No. 6 PIttsburgh in the regional final on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Field House.
Wisconsin’s block was the key to its win. The Badgers out-blocked the Nittany Lions, 23-9, with Caroline Crawford leading all players with a career-high 12 stuffs, including three in the fifth set. Anna Smrek and Danielle Hart were close behind with eight stops apiece while Sarah Franklin added a career-high six stop blocks. Devyn Robinson also had six stuffs.
🗣 The Field House was 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂!!!
We reached 110 decibels at match point!
1️⃣1️⃣0️⃣!
We love you Badger fans! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/DyPuA8vfuD
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) December 9, 2022
The Badger block held Penn State (26-8) to a .056 (56-46-179) team hitting percentage, including a negative .064 percentage in the second set. Wisconsin hit .182 (49-22-148) for the match behind a .579 (13-2-19) hitting percentage from Smrek. Franklin and Smrek combined for 26 of UW’s 49 kills in the match as both put away 13 attacks while Robinson added 11 kills. The Lions also had three players in double-digit kills led by Kashuana Williams with a match-high 14…
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