Wisconsin volleyball remains unbeaten with win vs. Miami

“That’s not conducive to necessarily playing great volleyball,” Sheffield said. “But I think we grinded real well.”

The No. 1 Badgers remained undefeated with a 25-11, 25-23, 25-15 win over Miami at UW Field House. A dominant first set again was followed by a more competitive second set, but the Badgers remained in control. And they regained their dominance in the final set with a 10-point win.

“It’s always gonna be a grind, you know?” senior setter MJ Hammill said. “There’s really no easy matches at all. And so you just got to keep working.”

Wisconsin outside hitter and Northwestern transfer Temi Thomas-Ailara had a true breakout after tying a program record for service aces in a three-set match (six) against Arizona on Friday, powering down 12 kills with a .360 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Sarah Franklin added nine kills with middle blocker Anna Smrek and right-side hitter Devyn Robinson each adding seven. 

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Wisconsin (7-0) was able to control the first set by allowing Miami (4-2) to make mistakes. The Hurricanes had 15 errors in the first set, 12 of which were on attack. Miami picked up the first kill of the match, then hit it into the net on its ensuing serve. It sailed its swings too strong, too wide and the Badgers’ block sent a few away, too. Some of the mistakes were on the Miami offense, Thomas-Ailara said, but the Badgers also put up a block to force it into “different shots.”

Thomas-Ailara powered a kill to make it 9-5 then combined with Carter Booth on a block assist to pull the Badgers ahead by five in the first set. That’s as close as it was for the rest of the first set, as the Badgers scored 15 of the next 21 points.

Miami, however, did not lose total control yet. Allowing teams to stick around has been a trend for the Badgers, perhaps made more noticeable when they emerge from a dominant first set. But Miami tied it 18 times in the second set (at 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20) before Wisconsin finally put two points together on back-to-back kills by Franklin and Smrek.

Thomas-Ailara said that will always be the case: opponents will adjust.

“A team’s gonna respond,” Hammill said. 

But the Badgers finished off the set and turned the match’s momentum back squarely in their direction.

The third set took a similar cadence with Miami keeping it tied at 8, but the Hurricanes never led after that. Wisconsin scored 10 of the next 13 points. Within that run, the Badgers scored five straight with Hammill at the service line, including two aces. The Badgers closed out the match on a 4-0 run.

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Here are three things that stood out. 

In the first set, Miami hit the ball hard to seemingly everywhere but the Badgers’ side of the court. Twice, Miami hit the ball way over the side of the net and pleaded that there was a touch. The second time, it challenged the point and failed. It made attack attempts that fired wide to the left and wide to the right. 

Despite 12 attack errors in the scorebook, though, Miami’s -.156 hitting percentage (the lowest by a Wisconsin opponent in a set this season) was no accident. The Badgers’ picked up six blocks in the first set, and when they didn’t it didn’t score off of the block, it severely altered the Miami attack. That remained a trend of the rest of the match, as the Hurricanes brought its hitting percentage up to just .076 before the match was over.

“I think our block is pretty scary, honestly,” Thomas-Ailara said. “They had to hit some different shots and they didn’t hit them well, but I think we defended well, too.

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Thomas-Ailara is still “learning as we go.” She’s connecting more with Hammill, learning from her fellow outside hitters. Thomas-Ailara played her first full six-rotation match of the season Thursday against Arizona, and just her second match in that look she’s showing vast improvements. There was a time this season where the Northwestern transfer — whose strong swings have made her potent in the back-row attack in her college career — looked uncomfortable in the back row on defense. But Friday, she seemingly made no defensive mistakes. She also had three blocks and five digs.

That has a positive effect on Thomas-Ailara’s offense. The better she can keep the Badgers in system, the more swings can come her way. After 22 Thursday, she had 25 attack attempts Friday, powering down 12 kills. It’s her highest kill total since the season opener against Baylor. She had a .360 hitting percentage, too, flashing the same efficiency she’s demonstrated in more limited attempts. If Thomas-Ailara is to be a regular six-rotation player, Friday was a promising night.

“I feel like these past few nights were great,” Thomas-Ailara said. “I feel like I’m integrating more with the team.”

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After she and Thomas-Ailara sent back the Badgers’ final point of the second set on a block assist, Booth turned toward the Wisconsin bench, clenched her fists and roared for her sixth block of seven in the match (one solo). Miami didn’t have an answer for any combination of her and her fellow middle blockers, and Booth led the way.

Booth has had some quiet matches this season. She had three blocks in the season opener against Baylor on Aug. 25, no blocks against Arkansas on Aug. 31 and just two Thursday against Arizona. But when the sophomore has been good, she’s looked like the most dominant member of the Badgers’ middle blocking unit. Along with Thomas-Ailara, Booth makes up the transfer unit Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said have “done what we expect them to do.” Matches like Friday remind the Badgers what they have in the high-profile transfer from Minnesota.