Wisconsin volleyball scores five-set win, advances to NCAA Elite Eight

Wisconsin advances to NCAA Elite Eight with five-set win over Texas A&M

Lola Schumacher and Wisconsin advanced to the Elite Eight with a five-set win over Texas A&M Friday night. / Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pushed to the distance Friday night, the Wisconsin volleyball team answered, advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

The Badgers won the fifth and final set over Texas A&M in Lincoln, Neb., 15-13, to take the match. 

Scores were 25-21, 18-25, 25-19, 23-25 and 15-13. 

With the win, Wisconsin moves to a seventh straight regional final where they will face Nebraska on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four. The Huskers knocked off Dayton in four sets to earn a spot in the next round.

Sarah Franklin tallied 21 kills with Carter Booth picking a perfect time for a career-high in kills with 14. Anna Smrek added 10 as the Badgers (26-6) racked up 67 kills on just 22 errors for the match.

Texas A&M (21-8) was led by Logan Lednicky, who had a match-high 23 kills.

Wisconsin used a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 lead in the fifth set before the Aggies rallied, cutting it to 13-12. The Badgers, though, answered again, finishing things off.

Charlie Fuerbringer had 56 assists and 12 digs with Lola Schumacher adding 24 digs. Booth and Smrek each had nine blocks.

“This tournament has been something else,” Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I mean, it’s just balance, the competitiveness, seemingly every single match and then the number of five-setters that have already happened barely halfway through. It’s just unbelievable.

“I think everybody that watched that match was in for a treat. I thought it was two teams that were laying it all out there just making big time plays.”

The Badgers have now advanced to a regional final for the 15th time in program history as Franklin had her 23th straight match with double-figure kills. Fuerbringer had her 11th double-double of the season. 

The Wisconsin-Nebraska match on Saturday will begin at 2 p.m. and air live on ABC. During the regular season, the Huskers scored two wins over the Badgers, including handing Wisconsin its lone loss at home this year.