Wisconsin volleyball sweeps Miami, headed to 11th straight Sweet 16
Sarah Franklin returns to Wisconsin volleyball after health scare
The redshirt junior outside hitter explains the condition that sidelined her and how she recovered in time for the first day of practice.
Mark Stewart, Wochit
MADISON – Sometimes you’ve got to give the other team credit.
That was Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield’s position following a hard-earned sweep of Miami in a second-round NCAA Tournament match at the UW Field House on Friday night. The Hurricanes had the Badgers on their heels in the first set and went toe-to-toe with them in during the first half of the second.
Ultimately, however, Wisconsin (28-3) posted a 25-23, 25-15, 25-17 victory in front of 7,229 that sent the program to the Sweet 16 for the 11th straight year. Miami finished 18-12.
Junior Anna Smrek finished with 15 kills, one off her season high, and posted a .542 hitting percentage. Senior Sarah Franklin (13 kills, .286) and graduate student Temi Thomas-Ailara (10, .304) also reached double figures.
“I thought we did a really good job of learning as we went through the match, of getting stronger,” Sheffield said.
“Early on I thought their speed (gave us trouble). We got some net violations and some negative block touches and some misses on some digs. When you sit there you can easily say what are (we) doing. (But) it’s not us, it’s them. It is the quality of the opponent that is putting us in those situations.”
And it was the quality of the Badgers that allowed them to turn away the Hurricanes’ challenges with another night of balanced offense, a defense that improved as the match went on and key peformances from unsung heroes Gulce Guctekin and Caroline Crawford.
The play of Caroline Crawford, Gulce Guctekin was key to win
Guctekin, a 5-foot-5 sophomore defensive specialist, played what Sheffield called the best match of her career, posting 16 digs, extending to keep a number of balls alive and being a steady presence against a Miami team that aggressively attacked from the service line.
Crawford, a 6-3 senior middle blocker, helped UW regain control of the match with her work from the service line. She finished with one ace and was the server of record on 13 Badger points.
She served four straight points late in the first set to help UW take a 24-21 lead and had a run of three straight in the final set, a run that helped the Badger take control by pushing their lead from four to seven points.
Rematch with Penn State on horizon for UW
Miami’s hitting percentage dropped from .244 in the first set to .189 in the second and .085 in the third. It’s no coincidence that UW’s blocking numbers went up at the same time.
And as the Badgers block improved, so did Guctekin’s ability to read Miami’s hitters.
“I think G did a really good job of being disciplined in the backcourt, staying still and reading the game really well,” said Crawford, who tied for the team high with four blocks. “Our block developed throughout the match and with that she was able to read the ball as well.”
UW’s presence up front also slowed down Miami sophomore Flormarie Heredia Colon.
Heredia Colon had eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage in the first set and -.173 hitting percentage during the final two sets.
Up next for Wisconsin is another trip to the Sweet 16 and another shot at Penn State, which defeated UW in four sets Nov. 11. The teams will play at the Field House at a time to be announced.
“We love to compete and whoever is on the other side of the net we’re going to compete and fight with all we’ve got,” Smrek said. “At this point you’ve got to leave it all on the court because you never know if you’re going to get a game next.”
