The No. 7 Wisconsin Volleyball team finished two more sweeps this past week to bring their winning streak to five, defeating No. 21 Georgia Tech and Marquette, their first road opponents of the season.
Georgia Tech
Wisconsin last met the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where Wisconsin won in four sets. During this week’s matchup, it only took Wisconsin three.
Coming off of the third straight win, the Badgers started off the first set sticking closely to Georgia Tech. They traded points back and forth until the very end of the set, when Wisconsin scored four in a row to clinch the first set 25-22.
Wisconsin had their highest hitting percentage of the night in set one, with 22 kills and only four errors. Outside hitters Mimi Colyer and Grace Egan led the team in kills, totalling 33 together. This was Colyer’s sixth straight match with double digit kills.
Sets two and three saw Wisconsin create a larger gap with Georgia Tech. Further, the Badgers’ kill percentage dropped significantly while Georgia Tech’s didn’t change much. Wisconsin played a cleaner game and forced Georgia Tech to make errors.
"Early on with our serving, I thought they did a good job of controlling the ball,” Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “We started breaking them down a little bit, and as the match was going on, we weren’t pressing behind the service line. Just trying to put in really good balls, and eventually we kind of got them.”
Marquette
On Wednesday night, the Badgers faced off against in-state rival Marquette at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Wisconsin breezed past the Golden Eagles in front of a crowd of over 10,000. The closest set of the night was 25-18.
Wisconsin completed more scoring runs against Marquette compared to their previous match against Georgia Tech. In the first set, the Badgers went on two 4-0 runs early to set the offensive momentum high.
Again in the second set, Wisconsin put up six points before Marquette scored again, putting the Badgers ahead 12-3. They would ultimately finish that set 25-14.
Egan and Colyer hunted for the lead in kills again this game, racking up nine and 13 respectively.
“Offensively, I think we certainly were humming for most of the match,” Sheffield said.
Setter Charlie Fuerbringer reached 1,500 career assists and a match high of 32. Middle blocker Carter Booth is only three blocks away from a career record of 500.
Wisconsin now sits at five-game win streak. Next up, the Badgers face Florida Sept. 21 at noon back in the Kohl Center.
