UW started off their NCAA Tournament run strong with a dominant 3-0 sweep over Fairfield.
The No. 2 seeded Wisconsin Badgers took care of business in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, dispatching the Fairfield Stags in straight sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-14).
Senior opposite Anna Smrek led the way with 14 kills and a .684 hitting percentage as she really wore down the Stags in the latter stages of the match. She also picked up five blocks, tied with junior middle blocker Carter Booth for most on the night, as UW helped overcome slower starts to sets to earn comfortable victories.
Wisconsin started the match with positive serving as freshman Saige Damrow and senior CC Crawford had aces in the early stages. Crawford’s ace gave UW a 10-8 lead. The Stags kept it fairly close to start — compounded by some opening match jitters on the defensive side by freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer — but Wisconsin took a 15-11 lead at the first break thanks in part to four early kills from Booth.
Initially a problem to start the season, Fuerbringer and Booth’s connection on quick sets in the middle gave the Stags problems. After the timeout, two blocks gave the Badgers a 17-11 lead and forced a Fairfield timeout. Senior Julia Orzoł added an ace to make it 23-14 as Wisconsin cruised to the opening set win. Orzoł, Smrek and Booth each had four kills in the opening set.
The second set saw another closer start before UW opened up a commanding lead. Fairfield tied the set at 7-all before a 4-0 run gave Wisconsin a 11-7 lead and forced a timeout from the Stags. Up to that point in the set, the Badgers were hitting for .538. They ended up finishing that set with .531.
Things clicked and senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin started to get going as well. The Big Ten Player of the year had 12 kills, eight digs and three blocks for UW and had seven blocks in the second set. Smrek closed out the second set 25-16. In other welcome news for Badger fans, junior Gülce Güçtekin saw her first action since Nov. 14 against USC. She tallied two digs in a brief cameo as she is battling an injury.
After the Stags took an early 5-4 lead, Orzoł sparked a 4-0 run with two aces to help the Badgers take an 8-5 advantage. Wisconsin scored two more points to force a Fairfield timeout as the Stags were hitting -.143 in the set, struggling against the Badger block. Smrek pounded home three straight kills that pushed the UW lead to 15-8 and there was no coming back for the Stags as Wisconsin won 25-14 to advance in the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin will hope to continue dancing with a tough matchup against the No. 7 seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tech beat Tennessee in a five-set thriller in the earlier match in Madison, which could help UW since it finished up its match quickly. Either way, a spot in the Sweet Sixteen is on the line at the Field House Friday night. That match is at 7 p.m. Central and will be on ESPN+.