The Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team continues their march through a season that has proven to be a dominant one. Their next match has the No. 1 ranked Badgers taking their 7-0 record on the road to play the first of their final two non-conference matches against 2-5 Marquette.
Reps under the big lights. pic.twitter.com/4mkKwiCHze
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) September 13, 2023
Wisconsin Badgers Volleyball by the Numbers
After continuing their dominant season with a sweep of the Miami Hurricanes, the Wisconsin Badgers continue their run with a high-powered offense, holding a hitting percentage of .324 on the season, which is the best in the Big Ten and ranked No. 7 in Division I. They’ve only missed .300 once, and it was .295 against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Leading the charge in hitting is Carter Booth, posting a .500 hitting percentage, which is tied for 6th in Division I. Anna Smrek follows her with a .448 that ranks 25th nationally.
She is COOKIN’ tonight 👩🍳 @anna_smrekk pic.twitter.com/RG4QcrZb6u
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) September 9, 2023
Graduate Student Izzy Ashburn is still one ace away from tying Margie Kaminski, who holds the all-time record of 166 aces.
Senior Sarah Franklin is right on the cusp of 1,000 career kills. She lost her streak of double-digit kills in the match against Miami, but it brought her within 2 of the 1,000-kill mark. She currently leads Badgers volleyball in kills.
As the Badgers continue their road schedules, they seem to be pulling in record-setting crowds as they’ve become a spectacle in the volleyball world. It’s expected that there’ll be a sellout of 17,500 on hand to watch the Wisconsin Badgers take on Marquette, making it the largest volleyball crowd in Wisconsin.
Marquette comes into the match ranked No. 29 in Division I, which is a fall from their No. 12 ranking in the preseason AVCA polls. The Golden Eagles have gotten off to a rough start with a .174 hitting percentage, which has contributed to their 2-5 record.