Wisconsin

Back pain doesn’t stop Wisconsin volleyball’s Sarah Franklin from record-setting night vs. Marquette

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2 years ago

September 18, 2024

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Back pain doesn’t stop Wisconsin volleyball’s Sarah Franklin from record-setting night vs. Marquette

MADISON – Sarah Franklin has the ability to make the ridiculous seem routine.

Wisconsin volleyball’s senior outside hitter did it again Tuesday night, using an array of shots to put together a record-hitting performance in leading the team to a 3-1 victory over Marquette in front of a crowd of 15,084 at the Kohl Center.

Franklin finished with 33 kills, a program record for a four-set match, while posting a .517 hitting percentage. The performance broke Dana Rettke’s record of 30 kills against Minnesota during the 2018 season.

That said we didn’t know how impressive the night was until Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield explained the back pain his star player fought to compete.

The back issues explained why Franklin was often jogging on the court during timeouts and sometimes in between points.

“Trying to keep her back loose was an all-day thing and an all-match type of thing,” Sheffield said. “I’m sure she got an awful lot of steps in.

“To play that performance with her back as tight as what it was, (in) as much as pain as she was, she is an absolute warrior,” Sheffield said. “That is one of the best matches I’ve ever seen a player do under the circumstances. It was fantastic.”

Wisconsin improved to 4-3 with the 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22 victory. The win was marked not only by Franklin’s play, but senior setter Carly Anderson’s last-minute start at setter and season-high 15 kills for senior right-side/middle blocker Anna Smrek.

For Marquette, senior Carsen Murray finished with 12 kills and a .632 hitting percentage, while senior outside Aubrey Hamilton added 10 kills, posting six and a .462 hitting percentage during the first set.

Here are four takeaways from the night.

Sarah Franklin got better as the night went along

Judging by Franklin’s play, her back must have felt better as the night went along because she was at her best down the stretch.

Here are her hitting numbers set by set.

1 – five kills, zero errors, 13 swings, .385 hitting percentage.

2 – nine kills, zero errors, 16 swings, .563 hitting percentage.

3 – seven kills, one error, 14 swings, .429 hitting percentage.

4 – 12 kills, one errors, 17 swings, . 647 hitting percentage.

Franklin, who also recorded her 1,500th career kill during the match to move into fifth place all-time in the program, sliced shots cross court, went down the line and even had three or four of her tips drop. It was that kind of night.

Anderson assisted the bulk of Franklin’s points, but she showed her ability to connect with any passer. In the third set defensive specialist Gulce Guctekin had three assists and middle blocker Caroline Crawford and libero Lola Schumacher had one each.

“Sarah makes the game so easy for a setter and for the whole team,” Anderson said. “You saw that throughout the whole match, but at the end especially. You can give her the ball and she is going to score no matter what kind of ball it is. That’s some crazy game that she has. She had my back. Everyone had my back throughout the entire match, but she especially did and she’s awesome.”

UW doesn’t miss beat without Charlie Fuerbringer

Fuerbringer watched the action with walking boot on her right leg. It wasn’t until a few hours before the match that Wisconsin’s starting setter was ruled out.

Enter Anderson, who has set sparingly this season, but set 101 matches during her career at Montana. She stepped back into that role easily.

She tied Fuerbringer’s season-high of 51 assists but needed one fewer set to do it. UW finished the night with a season-high .355 hitting percentage.

“It’s why we brought Carly in,” Sheffield said. “She’s probably one of the most experienced setters in the country going into her fifth year … It’s not easy being told a few hours before match time that you’re running the show and we saw her composure and her connection. We hit for a pretty a good percentage as the match went on.”

MU’s Carsen Murray’s remained efficient

Murray didn’t have an error in 19 swings and posted a season-high .632 hitting percentage while also leading the Golden Eagles in blocks (four) and points (14½).

The performance marked the second time in three matches that she hit better than .500, work that pushed her season hitting percentage to .402. That would rank second in the Big East based on ranking entering the week.

Badger block helps change course of match

Marquette opened the match with a .348 hitting percentage that led to a first-set win. From there the Golden Eagles’ productivity dipped, going to .214 in the second set and .029 in the third before rebounding to .306 in the final set.

Key to the shift was the Badgers’ productivity with their block. UW is traditionally one of the top teams in the nation in blocking. The team hasn’t reached that level yet this season, but runs like they had during the final three set Tuesday will help their cause.

UW doubled its blocks from the first set to the second and tripled its production during the final two sets. Smrek finished the night with six blocks. Senior Caroline Crawford was next with four and senior Devyn Robinson, who didn’t play in the first set and for most of the second, had three.

Adjusting to the speed of Marquette’s offense was key.

“Marquette runs a really fast tempo and they have some really good, experienced outsides on their team and they’re dynamic attackers so we want to be more dynamic on our block than their attack,” Smrek said. “Getting good blocks, it just bring so much energy to the team, but we just stayed consistent.”

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lutheran’s Zens is Gatorade state player of the year

Published

8 hours ago

March 24, 2026

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Wisconsin Lutheran’s Zens is Gatorade state player of the year

Zavier Zens was named the 2025-26 Gatorade Wisconsin boys basketball player of the year.
The Wisconsin Lutheran senior also won the Mr. Basketball award and a third straight state title.
Zens averaged 23.4 points per game and led his team to an undefeated 30-0 season.
He was also recognized for his community service, youth coaching, and a 3.38 GPA.

Wisconsin Lutheran senior Zavier Zens rounded out a week that already saw him named to the Naismith High School All-American list, receive the Mr. Basketball Award from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and win a third consecutive WIAA state title with his Vikings teammates by being named the 2025-26 Gatorade Wisconsin boys basketball player of the year.

In a release from March 20, Gatorade announced Zens as Wisconsin Lutheran’s second Gatorade player of the year in the past three seasons, joining his first cousin, Kon Knueppel. The 6-foot-7 Northern Iowa commit averaged 23.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and shot 61.8% from the field, leading Wisconsin Lutheran’s second 30-0 season in the past three years.

In addition to his on-court impact, the Gatorade press release highlighted Zens’ community impact as a youth basketball coach, participation in community service through his church and a 3.38 weighted GPA in the classroom among the factors leading to his selection.

“Zavier is incredible,” Greendale coach Ryan Johnson said in the Gatorade release. “He has had an incredible season as the leader of not only the top-ranked team in the state, but one of the best teams in the country. He scores at all three levels, defends at a high level and is a true leader.”

Zens scored 21 points in a 68-61 WIAA Division 1 state semifinal win over Appleton North on March 20, before adding another team-best 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead a 57-37 win in the D1 state title game over Madison Memorial on March 21.

He finishes his career as the No. 3 career scorer in school history (1,611 points), No. 7 in career rebounds (463), No. 2 in career threes (154) and single-season points (703), while holding the school record for converted field goals in a season (282).

Gatorade player of the year recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 12 sports, including: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross-country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, as well as boys and girls track and field. In total, 610 high school athletes are recognized each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports by a committee that leverages coaches, scouts, media and other sources to determine each sport’s winner.

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Wisconsin

Predicting Wisconsin’s chances of retaining its starters

Published

20 hours ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Predicting Wisconsin’s chances of retaining its starters

Coming off a uniquely discouraging loss to High Point in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64, Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers don’t have time to lick their wounds, as the transfer portal madness will be upon us before you can say “Still No Sweet 16 Since 2017.”

With this in mind, here are my very early best guesses for the chances of the Badgers retaining their guys. Part 2, which will cover rotational players, will drop soon.

Let’s dive right in here with the Badgers’ trickiest retention target. I want to be up front with the fact that I have zero insider information on this, but I’ve talked to enough folks who cover the program to have a distinct vibe that he’s quite possibly gone. Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State have been the most frequently linked suitors for a player who grew up in Detroit and whose father played for the Illini.

Coming off a season with many highs, but a few obvious regressions, especially on defense—along with admitted “struggles” off the court—it’s natural to wonder if Blackwell might be looking for a fresh start (and bigger paycheck).

The fact that there will be more money on the table elsewhere (I don’t think it will be the NBA) doesn’t help the Badgers’ chances. But my vibe is that Gard, the coach who believed in Blackwell when none from other Big Ten programs did, will give Blackwell a very fair offer with a raise and let the chips fall where they may.

High-scoring wings with middling defense are easier to find in the portal than top-quality point guards or bigs with the diverse skills of the player in my next evaluation. Chances of Retention 50%.

Given his premium skill set and room for growth, there’s a good argument that Winter should be the Badgers No. 1 priority for retention. It’s also a fact that he likely has more to prove before an NBA squad will use a pick on him, although I suspect workouts and testing would only help his cause.

Winter has always struck me as Minnesota Nice and profiles as a quintessential Badger. But I felt similarly about Chucky Hepburn before he surprisingly bolted for Louisville before his senior year, so nothing can be taken for granted.

Winter declining to commit to a fourth season in Madison 20 minutes after losing to High Point has been overblown. He was distraught and coming to grips with a cruel and premature end to what was looking like a special March run.

So, I will cut him some slack here. My vibe is that we’ll see Winter back with the Badgers in ‘26-27. Chances of Retention: 70%.

Rapp’s progression on both offense and defense as the season progressed was incredibly encouraging, and his commitment to another year in Madison immediately after Wisconsin’s loss to High Point was music to fans ears.

For the same reasons why we shouldn’t put too much of our hopes and dreams into what Winter said or didn’t say postgame on Thursday, I’d caution you to take Rapp’s Badgers pledge as written in pencil.

While I think he’ll be back, there will be suitors for Rapp’s skill set, and he will be getting a sizable raise. Gard will need to work a bit to lock him down. Chances of Retention: 80%.

Like Rapp, the sturdy Lithuanian big who appears older than his actual age made impressive strides as the season went along, ending up as a solid 5/5 guy with a few notable high points, including torching an elite Michigan squad from deep on the way to college basketball’s most impressive victory of the season.

But his defense has a lot of room for growth, and his offense can also improve, so my guess is that both aspects of his game will be nurtured in Madison, where he was a valuable starter as a true freshman, a rarity.

While he’ll surely have a market in the portal given his age and inside/outside talents, it won’t be nearly as robust as for other Badgers. Being from Europe makes it a bit murkier, but I feel uniquely confident he’ll be back in Madison. Chances of Retention: 85%.

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Like Wisconsin-OSU hockey, these are state’s best postseason rivalries

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Like Wisconsin-OSU hockey, these are state’s best postseason rivalries

It’s hard to match what the University of Wisconsin and Ohio State women’s hockey teams have accomplished – meeting four consecutive years for the NCAA championship. With a 3-2 win Sunday, March 22, the Badgers are back-to-back champs and winners in three of the four battles, all separated by one goal.

Similar to USA-Canada in the Olympic finals – a meeting this year that featured players from both UW and OSU – the programs simply seem destined to meet with the season on the line.

These are the other best postseason rivalries in Wisconsin sports:

UW-Whitewater vs. Mount Union football

This is perhaps the most obvious Wisconsin sports postseason rivalry, the battle for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl and the NCAA Division III football championship.

UW-Whitewater first met Mount Union in 2005 for all the marbles, and then the program met a staggering seven consecutive seasons, with Whitewater winning four times (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

They met again in 2013 and 2014, with Whitewater winning both. But, Mount Union still has 13 titles in program history, while Whitewater has six.

Since 1996, the two powerhouse NFL franchises have met 10 times in the postseason, and though the Packers had the early success, with wins in four of the first five playoff meetings, San Francisco has won the last five games, all since 2013.

For Packers fans, that includes many memorable highs and lows, including an NFC championship win in early 1998 en route to a second straight Super Bowl and a franchise-affirming road win in the divisional round in early 1996, even with Dallas awaiting to eliminate the Packers in the NFC title game one week later.

The more recent games included a heartbreaking divisional loss in Santa Clara after the 2023 season, a snow-aided special-teams debacle after the 2021 season and a double dose of Colin Kaepernick after the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Marquette men’s basketball vs. Kentucky

If we merge Wisconsin and Marquette together, we get a rich tapestry of battles with Kentucky in the men’s NCAA Tournament, though Marquette has the greater volume.

For Wisconsin, the battles include a stellar high (beating undefeated Kentucky in 2015) and an agonizing loss (in the 2014 Final Four), not to mention a 2003 loss in the Sweet 16.

Marquette, of course, has its own recent thrill against UK, smashing the top-ranked Wildcats in the Elite Eight of the 2003 tournament behind Dwyane Wade’s triple-double. An upset win in the Sweet 16 of the 1994 tournament can’t be forgotten, either, with point guard Tony Miller and his nine assists helping MU stage a 75-63 victory.

MU also met Kentucky in 2008 (a 74-66 win in the first round), with the other entrants in the rivalry dating to the 1970s and earlier.

Kentucky won in 1975 (second round), 1972 (Sweet 16), 1968 (Sweet 16) and 1959 (regional third-place game) but Marquette won in 1971 (regional third-place game), 1969 (Sweet 16) and 1955 (Sweet 16).

Technically, the Bucks have faced Philadelphia (nine times) more than Boston (eight times) in the postseason, but the Celtics provide some recent history and some tense battles over the years that weren’t always restricted to the floor.

Milwaukee got the best of Boston in 2019 during the Eastern Conference semis – the series when Paul Pierce said he thought the series was over after Boston’s Game 1 victory; Milwaukee won the next four – but Boston also defeated the Bucks in 2022 in seven games without an injured Khris Middleton, and the Celtics got Milwaukee in a seven-game opening-round series in 2018, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his team on the cusp of an ascent.

There’s plenty of history to go with those recent meetings, too, not the least of which was the 1974 NBA Finals, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson played their last game together at the Arena in a heartbreaking seventh-game loss to the Celts.

Boston twice eliminated the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals (1986 and 1984), in addition to a seven-game series win over the Bucks in the 1987 Eastern semis, a series that featured a fight between Boston’s Kevin McHale and a Milwaukee fan in Game 3, part of a litany of wild events in that series.

Milwaukee did get a sweep over the 1983 Celtics in the Eastern semis, but it’s just 2-6 all time against Boston.

Arrowhead vs. Homestead football

There are a number of combinations in the high school football (or basketball) sphere that could apply here. For example, Catholic Memorial has met Notre Dame in Green Bay for the state football title three times. So have fellow state powerhouses St. Mary’s Springs and Stratford. Edgar met Black Hawk in 2018, then met the Black Hawk/Warren co-op in 2019 and 2023.

But Arrowhead and Homestead met three years in a row for the Division 1 state title from 2006 through 2008, with legendary coaches Dave Keel and Tom Taraska at the helm. Homestead won the first meeting between the Milwaukee-area behemoths, 35-0, and Arrowhead answered with a 31-7 win the following year. That set up the 2008 rubber match, a 13-11 win for Homestead.

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