With a few key injuries to its back row, UW got off to a slow start before a 3-1 victory over UCLA.
In their second leg of the LA road trip, the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers (14-2 Big Ten, 20-5 overall) found themselves short-handed but were able to take care of the UCLA Bruins (6-10, 12-13) Saturday night 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-15) after a slow start.
Junior defensive specialist Gülce Güçtekin was out with an injury while freshman libero Lola Schumacher was ruled out after being hit in the face during the team’s warmups, as the Wisconsin State-Journal’s Dennis Punzel reported.
With sophomore Saige Damrow and freshman Maile Chan stepping up in their absence, the Badgers struggled early on against the Bruins. The opening set was tied 14-all before UCLA went on a 4-1 run to push its lead to 18-15 and force a Wisconsin timeout. UCLA’s Anna Dodson then had back-to-back blocks to make the lead 20-15 before the Bruins closed out the set 25-20.
UW was held to just .265 in the opening set while the Bruins hit .433. The first set jitters for the new players seemed evident, as the team was not passing as well in the initial frame with UCLA taking advantage.
In the second set, the Badgers were able to pick up the momentum, with senior Anna Smrek starting to get going. After posting just one kill in the opening set, Smrek tallied 16 kills while hitting .609. The team settled into the rotation and was able to get a 10-6 lead in the second set that forced a UCLA timeout.
The Bruins battled back to tie the set at 10-all before freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer was able to get two straight aces to give UW a 14-10 lead, then the Badgers went on a 11-3 run to close out the second set and tie up the match 1-1. Wisconsin held UCLA to negative hitting in that frame.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin had another great night, tallying 19 kills while hitting for .378. Her and Smrek’s timely kills made a huge difference in a third set made tight by UW’s serving struggles. Wisconsin had eight service errors in the frame — with a total of 17 on the night — that helped keep the Bruins in the set. Cheridyn Leverette for the Bruins also fired home 20 kills on the night and was another strong factor in keeping UCLA in the third set.
But it was Smrek’s seven kills in the third that helped push UW over the line 25-22 and go up 2-1 in the match.
In the final set, UW got off to a fast start and a block from Smrek and junior Carter Booth forced a UCLA timeout at 11-6. The Badger block tallied 12 on the night and got going to help close out the match.
Despite the short-handed back row, Damrow and Chan eventually were able to get into a groove after the opening set. Damrow led the team with 15 digs, a good sign after she had early struggles in serve receive. Although Chan struggled with service errors, she was passing solidly on the defensive front. It sure helped that senior Julia Orzoł was able to post a double-double on the night with 11 kills and 12 digs. Her presence kept the Badgers steady in the new situation.
The Badgers will hope they can get healthy quickly. UW has a huge week, hosting the No. 16 Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-6, 16-9) Wednesday night before heading to Lincoln Saturday night for a massive clash against the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-0, 26-1).