Former Ankeny Centennial star Devyn Robinson earned her 500th career block as the Wisconsin volleyball team defeated Georgia Tech in four sets on Friday to advance to the NCAA Regionals for the 12th consecutive season.
The second-seeded Badgers overcame a one-set deficit to post a 25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the UW Field House in Madison. It marked Robinson’s final match on her home court.
“I mean you know it’s a lot, you don’t realize that you just played your last point, that I took my last swing in the Field House until it’s over and you look around and I’m seeing fans that I’ve seen since my freshman year, even before when they were like ‘we’re so excited for your career’ and now that it’s come to, not the end, but the end here at the Field House is overwhelming,” said Robinson, a team captain. “I’m just so grateful that I was able to spend the last five years of my life in this program with these girls and I met my best friends here.”
Set four was an all-out battle, as neither team led by more than three points. The Badgers created a bit of distance with a 3-0 run and took a 14-11 lead on the block by Robinson that allowed her to reach the milestone.
No. 7 seed Georgia Tech (21-10) brought it back within one a couple times, and then tied it up at 20-all. But Sarah Franklin took over in the final points, racking up three kills in a row as the Badgers advanced to the Sweet 16.
“NCAA Volleyball at its finest right there,” said UW coach Kelly Sheffield. “Just two teams that were just going at it and slugging out. Congratulations to just a tremendous Georgia Tech team and you know how gritty that team is and we knew we had to match their grit to give ourselves a chance to win. And I thought we did a great job with that, their outsides are a handful.”
Franklin finished with 20 kills, while Anna Smrek had 13 and Carter Booth added 10. Robinson contributed eight kills and three blocks.
Robinson, a senior middle blocker and right-side hitter, had no hitting errors in 18 total attacks for a team-high .444 hitting percentage. As a team, Wisconsin hit .265 overall.
The Badgers (25-6) will face No. 6 seed Texas A & M (21-7) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Lincoln, Neb. No. 1 seed Nebraska (31-2) will host No. 5 Dayton (31-2) in the second match, with the two winners to play in the regional final on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Sunday’s match could be an all-Big Ten Conference affair. The Cornhuskers swept Wisconsin twice during the regular season.