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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kelly Sheffield knew his University of Wisconsin volleyball team would have to find a way to slow down Kentucky’s attack if it was to prevail in the matchup of the past two national champions on Friday.
And the best way to do that was to serve well, which is just what the No. 6 Badgers did as they swept the No. 14 Wildcats 25-23, 28-26, 25-18 at Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky (4-2) entered the match leading the nation with a .375 hitting percentage, but was held to a season-low .231 mark by the Badgers (4-1). UW finished with a season-high 15 blocks, one short of the school record for a three-set match.
“It started with our serve,” Sheffield said in his post-match radio interview. “We were really putting the ball right where we wanted to, over and over and over again. That’s by far the best we’ve served.
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“We’ve not been a particularly good serving team so far. It’s an area that we spent a lot of time on this week and it showed tonight. That made our block a little bit simpler. If you can get the setter on the run it certainly helps.”
Junior Devyn Robinson had a team-high 13 kills and added six blocks to lead the Badgers. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin added nine kills, while 5th-year Danielle Hart and junior Caroline Crawford each recorded seven blocks.
“Kentucky is a really great team,” Robinson said. “We just came out more hungry. We wanted it more. We just wanted to get up there and stuff them.”
Wisconsin's Devyn Robinson, left, spikes the ball against Louisville's Claire Chaussee during a semifinal of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 16, 2…
One exception was junior Reagan Rutherford, who led the Wildcats with 13 kills and didn’t have a hitting error until late in the third set when she finally had a shot blocked by Hart and sophomore Julia Orzol.
“We had a really tough time blocking Rutherford, the lefty,” Sheffield said. “We just don’t see lefties in our gym very much and we were all over the place. We got a lot better, we started getting a little better block touches, got a big-time stuff to give us some separation.
That block of Rutherford gave UW an 18-17 lead to help spark a 9-1 run to close out the match. Robinson got four of her kills in that stretch, including the final two points as the Badgers’ last seven points came on kills.
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Early on, however, the Badgers offense was sputtering at times as they hit just .243 through the first two sets.
Sheffield was less than pleased with the placement of sets by his two setters, Izzy Ashburn and MJ Hammill. That’s been something of a common theme, at least early in matches, as the Badgers continue to adjust to their new 6-2 attack.
“I thought Izzy was kind of forcing things a little bit,” Sheffield said. “One of the things that both of those guys have shown, and we talked about this in the locker room, there have been a few times that it hasn’t been good early and they’ve gotten a little bit better and a little bit better.
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“It takes a little bit of time to get that figured out but we found other ways to win against a really good team on the road. I look at that as a real strength, not something that’s frustrating or anything else. I got on them a little bit early, which is one of the first times I’ve done that and they responded to that.”
The Badgers looked to be in command in the first set as they opened up a 15-11 lead, sparked by the serving of freshman Gulce Guctekin, who had one of her three aces in a 5-0 run. UW was up 23-17 before Kentucky ran off five straight points and appeared to have a sixth to tie the set, but Sheffield challenged a touch call and the point was reversed to give UW a 24-22 lead. The Badgers got set point on a Kentucky attack error.
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The Badgers didn’t get their first kill in the second set until their ninth point, as the first eight came on an ace, two service errors and eight attack errors, four of those on UW blocks. The Badgers trailed by as many as six points before rallying to pull even at 20-20. Kentucky got to set point at 24-23 but the Badgers came back to get to set point twice before Franklin finished things off with back-to-back kills.
The Badgers got their offense rolling in the third set as they hit .345 while holding the Wildcats to .071 with just seven kills and five errors.
“Our serve-pass game was really good all the way through,” Sheffield said. “We were excellent in our serve-pass. We had them out of system a lot. That allowed us to block a lot of balls.
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“Early on we really had a tough time locating our sets. We weren’t getting good swings. But our setting got a lot better as the match went on and our connections got a whole lot better.”
WISCONSIN (kills-digs-blocks) — Gregorski 0-1-0, Hammill 0-2-0, Crawford 1-0-7, Robinson 13-0-6, Ashburn 0-4-0, Franklin 9-6-3, Smrek 4-1-3, Demps 0-1-0, Hart 4-0-7, Guctekin 0-11-0, Orzol 8-8-3. Totals 39-34-15.
KENTUCKY (kills-digs-blocks) — Rutherford 13-10-1, Rollins 9-10-1, Lamb 8-1-1, Tealer 6-2-3, Goetzinger 5-3-1, Grome 2-3-1, Beavin 0-11-0, Melby 0-1-0, Walker 0-1-0, Whitworth 0-0-0. Totals 43-42-6.
Hitting percentage — W .272, K .231. Aces — W 6 (Guctekin 3), K 3 (Rutherford, Rollins, Grome). Assists — W 37 (Ashburn 20), K 40 (Grome 35). Att. – 3,093.
Wisconsin's Anna Smrek (14) hits the ball in the second set of a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Anna Smrek (14) hits the ball past Marquette's Hattie Bray (22) in the second set of a game at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Devyn Robinson (10) hits the ball past Marquette's Aubrey Hamilton (10) in the second set of a game at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Sarah Franklin (13) hits the ball at Marquette's Carsen Murray (12) and Yadhira Anchante (1) in the second set of a game at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Gulce Guctekin (21) dives for the ball in the second set of a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin players, including Wisconsin's Gulce Guctekin (21), react after a point in the second set of a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin volleyball players, including Anna Smrek (14), MJ Hammill (6), top right, Gulce Guctekin (21) and Sarah Franklin (13), left, celebrate a point in the second set of a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Devyn Robinson (10) and Danielle Hart (18) put up a block against Marquette's Aubrey Hamilton (10) in the second set of a game at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Julia Orzol (22) and Caroline Crawford (9) put up a block against Marquette's Ella Foti (7) in the second set of a game at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
UW student Madeline Timmers passes out mini banners to spectators for the team’s 2021 national championship win before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Dana Rettke receives a ring from Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh for the team’s 2021 national championship win during a ceremony before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Liz Gregorski reacts after receiving a championship ring from Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh for the team’s 2021 national championship win during a ceremony before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin 2021 national championship volleyball team gathers around the trophy for a photo during a ceremony before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Anna Smrek receives a ring from Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh for the team’s 2021 national championship win during a ceremony before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin volleyball players cheer on their teammates as they receive rings for their 2021 national championship win during a ceremony before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin's Devyn Robinson reacts after receiving her championship ring from Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh for the team’s 2021 national championship win during a ceremony before a game against Marquette on Friday.
Dana Rettke shows her championship ring to fans after a ceremony for the team’s 2021 national championship win before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
The 2021 volleyball national championship banner is dropped from the ceiling during a ceremony before a game against Marquette at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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