The Wisconsin Badgers overcame slow starts, spells of errors, and a crowd full of rivals rooting to spoil its fun, but the No. 2 seed gritted out a five-set win (25-21, 18-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13) over the No. 6 seed Texas A&M Aggies to advance to the program’s seventh straight Elite Eight appearance thanks to timely, gutsy plays from its stars.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin led the way for Wisconsin with 21 kills on 66 swings, with no kill more important than the one to clinch the fifth-set win at 15-13.
In the final frame, Franklin had four kills and an ace that gave Wisconsin a 9-6 lead over the Aggies.