Devyn Robinson continues her hot streak to highlight our midweek review of Wisconsin volleyball
A weekly update on the University of Wisconsin volleyball team.
IN THE POLL
Wisconsin climbs one spot after weekend sweep
The Badgers (9-3, 3-1 Big Ten) climbed one spot to No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll following two wins at the UW Field House: They swept No. 12 Penn State on Friday and scored a come-from-behind five-set win over Illinois on Sunday.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Devyn Robinson closes door on Illinois and Penn State
The junior middle blocker/right-side hitter hit over .400 against Penn State and Illinois, pushing her season total of such performances to six, most on the team. She tied for the team high with 12 kills while posting a .524 hitting percentage and six blocks against Penn State. Two days later she recorded 14 kills (.423 hitting percentage) with three blocks against Illinois.
Against both opponents, her play was key to closing out the match. Against Illinois, she had three kills during a 5-1 run in the final set that gave UW an 8-4 lead. Against Penn State, she smashed a pass in the middle for match point.
“My head hurts from screaming,” she said after her kill to close out the Penn State match. “I feel like I put myself in that situation a million times in my head like I want to get that last point, I want to get this last block, like I’ve been there before.”
THE PASSING SKILLS OF SARAH FRANKLIN AND OTHER NOTES
Passing fancy: Franklin, a sophomore, is the team’s most used hitter and one of its most dangerous servers. She is also a pretty good passer. On Sunday, Illinois’ servers regularly attacked Franklin in the back row but she responded with 44 serves received with a .936 receiving percentage. That is 19 more serves received than her previous season best, which came against Marquette on Sept. 2.
“They were going after Sarah a ton and I thought she did a great job of handling the barrage,” UW coach Kelly Sheffield said.
A vast repertoire: Serving specialist Liz Gregorski served 15 times against Illinois, a testament to various twists she can put on a ball. She served the final six points of that match and often got Illinois out of its system.
“(She was) really changing a lot of speeds from her fastball, her knuckleball, her change-up. her no-lookie cookie," Sheffield said. "She was a magician out there.”
Izzy on point: In addition to being complimented by Sheffield for the job she and fellow setter MJ Hammill did executing the game plan against Illinois, senior Izzy Ashburn posted her first career double-double in that match (27 assists, 12 digs). Against Penn State, she recorded a .548 success rate on her sets, her second-highest rate of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 Consecutive matches with double-digit kills for Franklin.
7 Big Ten teams in the AVCA top 25, which ties a season high.
.147 Hitting percentage for UW opponents, the second-lowest percentage in the Big Ten.
3-3 UW's record against ranked opponents.
COMING UP
A midweek clash in the Hoosier state is on deck
At Indiana, 7 p.m. Wednesday (BTN): The Badgers’ 13-match winning streak over the Hoosiers is their longest over any Big Ten foe. Indiana enters the week 2-2 in the Big Ten with losses to Penn State and Ohio State and wins over Maryland and Iowa.
At No. 5 Purdue, 5 p.m. Saturday (BTN+): The Boilermakers handed UW two of its three Big Ten losses last season. They entered the week 13-1 with a 4-0 mark in the Big Ten that includes sweeps of Minnesota and Rutgers, a four-set victory over Iowa and a five-set win over Illinois. Madeline Koch, a senior outside hitter from Ashwaubenon, ranks fourth on the team with 1.95 kills per set with a .228 hitting percentage.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Player of the week Devyn Robinson leads Wisconsin Badgers volleyball
