The No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Madison volleyball team took down the University of Michigan in a hard-fought four-set match in Ann Arbor on Sunday. The Badgers took an uncharacteristic 21-25 loss in the first set to the Wolverines but regained their footing to win the next three sets 25-10, 25-20 and 25-16.
At their annual Dig Pink Game in front of their home crowd, the Wolverines came out swinging. Both teams made aggressive plays, but Michigan set themselves apart with sophomore outside hitter Valentina Vaulet delivering a tough topspin serve that scored two aces. Michigan has not beaten Wisconsin at home since 2012, and it was clear they wanted to end that streak.
In the second set, the Badgers dominated with their scrappy defense, led by freshman libero Lola Schumacher and junior defensive specialist Gulce Guctekin. The front row showed off their defensive prowess as well, racking up a collective six blocks. The Wolverines still proved to be a challenging opponent on the court, but the momentum shifted in favor of the Badgers after their second-set win, 25-10.
The third set was a tight battle. Vaulet continued to challenge the Badgers with her serve, and junior middle blocker Serena Nyambio generated some points for the Wolverines. However, Wisconsin’s weapons, senior right-side hitter Anna Smrek and fifth-year outside hitter Sarah Franklin, maintained a powerful presence at the net and combined for several big kills. The Badgers also tallied eight blocks to help them win the set. Smrek and junior middle blocker Carter Booth are responsible for the majority of those blocks.
The Badgers went on a 7-1 scoring run late in the fourth set to close out the game. With this win, they improved to 13-4 on the season and 7-1 in conference play. Wisconsin finished with 53 kills to Michigan’s 46 and 21 blocks to Michigan’s seven. The 21 blocks set a program record for most blocks in a four-set match in the rally-scoring era, which demonstrates just how strong Wisconsin’s defensive game is.
The Badgers’ win in Ann Arbor marked a milestone for head coach Kelly Sheffield as well. Sheffield now ties the program record for the winningest coach with Pete Waite as he reached 305 career wins at Wisconsin on Sunday. He is expected to break that record sometime this season, as the Badgers still have 12 games left to play in the regular season.
The Badgers take on the Indiana Hoosiers at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The game will be in Bloomington, but Badger fans can watch from home on FS1.
