The No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Madison volleyball team swept No. [insert here] Northwestern University in three straight sets on Saturday, 25-16, 25-16 and 25-15. This win came after their recent loss against Minnesota, bringing their conference record to 1-1.
The first set started close, with Northwestern's outside hitter Buse Hazan keeping things tight at 9-8. Wisconsin then pulled away with a 14-5 run, including two 4-0 streaks. Wisconsin’s junior libero Gulce Gultekin and senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin each contributed service aces during this stretch. Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer had a notable set, tallying 10 assists and two kills.
Wisconsin took control early in the second set with three consecutive blocks. Middle blockers Carter Booth and Anna Smrek were key with both tallying blocks. The Badgers maintained their lead throughout, closing out the set 25-16 with kills from Franklin and Smrek.
The third set remained competitive midway through, with Wisconsin up 11-10. Hazan continued to perform well for Northwestern with three kills at the beginning of the set. But the Badgers soon went on a 9-2 run featuring aces from Fuerbringer and Franklin alongside more blocks from Booth and Smrek. Fifth-year Devyn Robinson finished the match with two kills, securing the 25-15 set win.
Wisconsin ended with a 9-2 advantage in service aces. Guctekin and Fuerbringer each had three, while Franklin added two. Franklin led all players with 11 kills, hitting .500 for the match. Fuerbringer finished with a game high of 27 assists.
Defensively, freshmen libero Lola Schumacher led with nine digs, and Booth topped the blocking stats with eight, followed by Smrek with five.
The Badgers will face Rutgers next in Piscataway, New Jersey on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. as they continue Big Ten play.
