Badgers outlive the Aggies | Wisconsin Badger

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 2 seed Badgers put up an offensive battle Friday night, defeating No. 6 Texas A&M 25-21, 18-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13 in a five-set thriller to advance Regional finals for the seventh year in a row.

Sarah Franklin led the team with 21 kills Carter Booth finished his career with 14 kills. Anna Smrek Added 10 to round out double-digit kills. The team hit .257 (67 kills – 22 errors – 175 attempts) on the night.

Texas A&M hit .223 (68-26-188) while Logan Lednicky had a match-high 23 kills.

The Aggies (21-8) got off to a hot start, scoring three straight kills to take a 5-2 lead and forcing an early UW (26-6) timeout in the first set. After the timeout, the Badgers slowly reduced the lead and extended it back to 7-1. Neither team had a lead of more than two points as they battled back and forth. Lola Schumacher extended the Badgers’ lead with a clutch ace to put UW ahead 23-20 and trigger an Aggie timeout. Wisconsin came out of the break and Franklin scored a kill from the back row to take the set point. Texas A&M held off a set point before Smrek clinched the game with a down-the-line kill, winning it 25-21.

Once again the Aggies were strong early in the set and the Badgers used both timeouts to start and trailed 11-5. The Badgers scored a pair of 3-1 runs to trail by just 12-16, but Wisconsin couldn’t break through as they lost the second set 25-18.

Wisconsin again struggled early in the third set, trailing 6-3, but turned things around with a 4-0 run, aided by kills from Franklin and Devyn Robinson along with a block from both to take a 7-6 lead. The Badgers held the lead 10-8, but the Aggies responded with a 4-1 run to regain the lead (12-11). The teams battled point for point until a point-saving save by Booth gave Wisconsin the momentum it needed (17-16), leading to a 9-2 run to win the third set 25-19.

The start of the fourth set was much more even, with the score tied at 3-3 until the Aggies took the lead 7-4. From there, the Badgers rallied and brought it within one point (11-10) thanks to a block from Smrek and Booth. The Aggies came right back and took a 16-12 lead after a kill and a block. The Badgers capitalized on an error and two consecutive kills CC Crawfordwhen Texas A&M called a timeout trailing 16-15. The Aggies maintained their lead until the Badgers cut the lead to 22-1. Texas A&M scored two straight goals to take set point, the Badgers held off one before the Aggies won the fourth set 25-23 to force a fifth set.

The fifth round started close and it was point for point as all four teams were tied. Franklin scored two straight kills to take a 6-4 lead. Texas A&M responded with two straight kills from Morgan Perkins. Wisconsin stormed ahead with a 5-0 run fueled by three Badger kills and an ace from Franklin, giving Wisconsin an 11-6 lead when Texas A&M called a timeout. The Aggies trailed by as many as five (8-13) before going on a four-kill run to force a UW timeout while the Badgers led 13-12. At the break, Booth scored a kill to set up match point. The Aggies held off a match point before Franklin won 15-13 to advance to the regional final.

Charlie Fuerbringer finished the game with 56 assists and added 12 digs for a double-double. Lola Schumacher had a game-high 24 digs.

Booth and Smrek each finished with nine blocks. The Aggies outscored Wisconsin 14.0-13.0.

The Badgers tallied four service aces while Franklin led the team with two.

Straight from the court

Head coach Kelly Sheffield

About the game overall: “This tournament was something different. I mean, it’s just the balance, the competitive spirit, seemingly every single game and then the number of five-setters there have already been, barely half. It’s just incredible. I think everyone who watched this game had something special. I thought it was two teams that did their best to make big plays.”

Middle blocker Carter Booth
On the differences from the first matchup: I think on both sides it’s a big improvement we’ve made since we first played them. We played our middle lines on both sides and got some good kills. It was just fun to see them and kill with them.

Outside attacker Sarah Franklin

Regarding the fifth sentence: “I think when you get to a fifth set, especially in the tournament, especially in the Sweet 16, when you’re playing teams that aren’t going to back down at that point. Let’s just go out there, let’s play the ball we know we played. And it’s just like that when you look for it and you see red and you try it. I think it’s just the mentality to keep going no matter what the last four sets looked like.

On the last point: “Lots of emotions. I mean, we’re privileged to keep playing, and I think at this point it’s just a lot of gratitude for the people around me. And how hard they continued to fight to fight together to get to this point because.” “You know, I didn’t start with the best game ever. So it’s a lot of gratitude and a lot of emotions that we can just keep playing another day.”

Notes on knowledge

• For the 15th time in program history and seventh consecutive year, the Badgers advance to the regional final, improving to 15-7 in the regional semifinals after defeating Texas A&M 3-2.
• Fifth year Sarah Franklin again recorded double-digit kills (21) for the 23rd straight game and 30th game this season. It’s also Franklin’s ninth 20+ game this season.
• Freshmen Charlie Fuerbringer posted her 11th double-double of the season with 56 assists and 12 digs.
• For the 21st time this season, Wisconsin recorded double-digit blocks (13.0).
• Junior middle blocker Carter Booth reached double-digit kills and set a career high with 14 for the fifth time this season.
• Wisconsin was shut out for just the third time this season (13.0-14.0). The last time this happened was on September 7 at Baylor, where Wisconsin recorded eight blocks to Baylor’s 10.
• Defensive specialist Gulce Guctekin reached double figures (13) for the fifth time this season and the first time since Oct. 18 against Oregon.
• Freshmen Lola Schumacher recorded her fourth 20+ dig match. Schumacher made a total of 24 excavations.

Next

The Badgers will play the winner of Dayton vs. Nebraska on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on ABC.