MADISON, Wis. – An exciting third set gave Wisconsin volleyball fans just what they were looking for at the Badgers’ annual intrasquad scrimmage. The White team defeated the Red team, 25-15, 17-25, 33-31 on Saturday afternoon in the UW Field House.
“I thought that was a lot of fun,” said head coach Kelly Sheffield. “At this time of year, you don’t want your players to feel like they have to be perfect. It’s everybody playing and we’re changing combinations and things. You know there is going to be times when it’s going to be a little messed up and there were. What I’m looking for is how do they respond? Do they come right back with some strength and go from one error to making a couple of good plays or does one error turn into four or five?”
Sophomore Julia Orzol and freshman Ella Wrobel led the White team with 16 kills and 14 kills, respectively, as the team hit .310 (42 kills -11 errors- 100 attempts). Transfer Sarah Franklin led the Red team with 14 kills as that squad hit .231 (44-19-108). Three players on the Red team added nine kills as Jade Demps, Liz Gregorski, and Devyn Robinson all just missed double figures.
Senior Izzy Ashburn set the White team to the win, putting up 35 assists while adding seven digs and three blocks. Junior MJ Hammill had 37 assists, seven digs and five blocks for the Red team.
“In the first two sets, both teams put it to the other team,” added Sheffield. “Both teams had players who kind of struggled a little bit and then both teams kind of found their groove. There was some really, really good volleyball being played as the match went on.”
The White team outblocked the Red team 9.0 – 8.5 behind five blocks apiece from Caroline Crawford and Anna Smrek. The Red team had a 42-37 advantage in digs behind a match-high 10 digs from Demps.
The highlight of the match was the third set where the White team served for set point six times and the Red team served for set point once.
The Badgers open the regular season next weekend when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge. Wisconsin takes on TCU on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 16 Baylor on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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