Badgers women’s volleyball takes down No. 15 Florida

(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON, Wis. – The No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team continued its winning ways to wrap up non-conference play, as they came back and defeated No. 15 Florida in four sets (19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 36-34) at the Kohl Center Classic in front of a crowd of 12,277.

In set one, the Badgers (7-1) utilized a quick 4-0 burst to take the lead early. The Gators (5-4) responded quickly, using their stingy defense to find their rhythm on the offensive end. After a kill from outside hitter Grace Egan tied the match at 16-16, Florida rattled off six consecutive points to earn the 22-16 lead.

A solo block from outside hitter Madison Quest cut into the Gators’ advantage, but it was not enough by set one’s conclusion with Florida taking the early advantage 25-19.

The Badgers provided an answer in set two, led by the likes of outside hitter Mimi Colyer and middle blocker Carter Booth. Colyer tallied multiple kills towards the first half of the set, finishing the afternoon with a season-high at 27. The senior earned her second double-double as a Badger, and she added 14 digs by the end of the match. 

Booth notched a clutch block in the late stages of the second set, tallying a kill in the process to secure the 25-22 victory to even the match heading into the third set. 

UW took advantage of that momentum in the later stages of set three, battling back-and-forth with the Gators to begin. With the Badgers leading 20-19, the unit was able to win five of the next six rallies to earn their first advantage of the match. 

Colyer gave Wisconsin the lead by accumulating three-straight kills, all off of assists from setter Charlie Fuerbringer to power the Badgers past Florida in set three with a 25-20 final score. 

Both teams remained resilient in set four, which saw 19 ties and nine lead changes. UW and the Gators went to extra points after the Badgers erased a deficit early on. A pair of Colyer kills, in addition to one of Fuerbringer’s three kills on the afternoon allowed Wisconsin to tie set four at 14-14. 

From there, the teams each traded rallies, with neither gaining much separation. The Badgers took advantage of an attack error while down 34-33, winning the next two points to secure their sixth-straight victory. 

Outside hitter Una Vajagic and Colyer provided the big swings to wrap up Sunday’s battle, as the Badgers won 3-1 in front of the UW faithful. 

Egan, Colyer, Fuerbringer and Vajagic all tallied double-doubles against the Gators—including a season-high in assists for Fuerbringer at 50. 

Booth was a staple in the middle once again for the Badgers—concluding a strong week on the court. The senior earned a season-high nine blocks to lead UW to 17 in total, their best mark on the year.