WACO, Texas — Picking up their first victory of the season with a gritty comeback win, the No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team beat TCU 25-15, 27-29, 21-25, 25-16, 15-11, in the first match of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Friday evening.
Leading the way offensively for the Badgers (1-3), tallying 18 kills was Sarah Franklin. Not far behind was her co-captain, Devyn Robinson putting down 17 kills. As a team, UW hit .266 (69 kills – 24 errors – 169 attempts).
TCU’s Outside hitter Melanie Parra recorded a match-high 21 kills and added 16 digs for the double-double. The Horned Frogs (1-2) finished the night hitting .216 (55 – 18 – 171).
With a kill from Julia Orzol, followed by a block from CC Crawford, the Badgers established an 8-4 lead in set one. TCU scored one off a kill from outside hitter Melanie Parra, but Wisconsin responded with three straight points including an ace from Orzol, taking an 11-5 lead. The Horned Frogs brought it back within three, putting together a quick run to make it 11-8. But, a kill from Crawford started a 6-2 run for the Badgers. Wisconsin closed out strong from there, including three straight kills to end the set, winning set one 25-15.
The Horned Frogs came out firing in the second set, as they took command early with a 7-4 lead. Wisconsin dug their way back in, to tie it a 7-all. The two teams traded off ties and lead changes. It wasn’t until the 22-20 mark that either team was able to earn as much as a two point lead, but Wisconsin surged ahead from a kill from Robinson and an attack error from TCU. The Badgers fought off four set TCU set points, however it was the Horned Frogs who strung together two points in a row to win set two 29-27.
TCU carried over their momentum from the previous set, as the Badgers struggled to find their footing. In an attempt to change the pace, Sheffield turned to graduate setter Carly Anderson to step in as they switched to a 6-2 with Anderson and Anna Smrek along with Charlie Fuerbringer and Robinson. As TCU led 18-13, UW switched back to a 5-1 with Fuerbringer leading the offense. From there, the Badgers rallied to bring it within one (21-22). But TCU scored three straight points to win 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Similar to what we saw in set one, the Badgers were firing on all cylinders in a must-woin set…
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