The No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers bounced back with a match sweep against Michigan State in East Lansing late Friday.
Coming off their first loss of the season against Nebraska last weekend, Wisconsin returned to dominance with another sweep that was commonplace before the loss to the Cornhuskers. The Badgers had previously swept their first nine matches in Big Ten play and added a 10th on Friday.
The Badgers were in danger early following a slow start. They trailed 7-1 and continued to trail throughout the set until they tied the set at 18. The set was still tied at 23, but Wisconsin broke away with two straight points, including a kill from Sarah Franklin, to escape with a victory in the first set.
Wisconsin found their footing and led throughout the second set, which they won 25-17.
The Badgers looked to finish the sweep, but the Spartans put up a bit of a resistance. Wisconsin held miniscule leads at the beginning of the set before breaking away with an 18-12 lead. The Spartans didn’t have much left to say as Wisconsin went on to win 25-16 with a 3-0 run and kills by Carter Booth, Devyn Robinson and Franklin.
Franklin was clinical against her old school, registering a team-leading 17 kills for the Badgers in her return to East Lansing. Anna Smrek and Booth also chipped in, posting eight kills each.
The Badgers are now 19-1 on the season and 10-1 in the Big Ten, trailing only Nebraska in conference standings. Wisconsin will return home to the UW Field House on Sunday afternoon to host Minnesota.
