The Badgers take care of business with the opening round over Fairfield

The No. 2 seed Wisconsin Badgers took care of business in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating the Fairfield Stags in straight sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-14).

Senior opponent Anna Smrek led the way with 14 kills and a .684 hitting percentage and really wore the Stags down in the latter stages of the match. She also collected five blocks, tying junior middle blocker Carter Booth for the most blocks on the night, as UW helped overcome slower starts to sets and earn comfortable victories.

Wisconsin began the game with positive serves as freshman Saige Damrow and senior CC Crawford had aces in the early going. Crawford’s ace gave UW a 10-8 lead. The Stags kept it pretty close early – compounded by some nervousness in the opening game on defense from freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer – but Wisconsin took a 15-11 lead at the first intermission, thanks in part to four early kills from Booth was.

It was initially a problem at the start of the season, but Fuerbringer and Booth’s connection in quick sets in the middle caused problems for the Stags. After the timeout, two blocks gave the Badgers a 17-11 lead and forced a Fairfield timeout. Senior Julia Orzoł made it 23:14 with an ace and confidently secured Wisconsin the first set win. Orzoł, Smrek and Booth each had four kills in the opening set.

Things started tighter again in the second set before UW took a commanding lead. Fairfield tied the set at 7-0 before a 4-0 run gave Wisconsin an 11-7 lead and forced a timeout for the Stags. To this point in the set, the Badgers were posting a .538 batting average. They ended up finishing that set with .531.

It worked and the experienced outside attacker Sarah Franklin also got going. The Big Ten Player of the Year had 12 kills, eight digs and three blocks for UW and seven blocks in the second set. Smrek finished the second set 25-16. In other welcome news for Badger fans, junior Gülce Güçtekin saw her first action since November 14th against USC. While battling an injury, she managed to make two appearances in a brief cameo.

After the Stags took an early 5-4 lead, Orzoł started a 4-0 run with two aces, helping the Badgers to an 8-5 lead. Wisconsin scored two more points and forced a Fairfield timeout as the Stags scored -.143 in the set and struggled against the Badger block. Smrek scored three straight kills to extend the UW lead to 15-8. There was no turning back for the Stags as Wisconsin won 25-14 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin will hope to keep dancing with a tough matchup against the No. 7 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tech beat Tennessee in a five-set thriller in the previous match in Madison, which could help UW as it finished its match quickly. Either way, a spot in the Sweet Sixteen is on the line at the Field House on Friday night. This game takes place at 7:00 p.m. Central and will be broadcast on ESPN+.