Wisconsin overpowers Oregon in four to claim its spot in NCAA semifinals

Wisconsin became the third No. 1 seed in as many regional finals Saturday to win its way into next weeks NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship by beating Oregon 25-22, 25-22, 25-27, 25-18.

Wisconsin (30-3), the No. 3 seed overall in the 64-team field, will play the winner of the last match of the day between second-seeded Stanford and No. 7 Texas.

Big Ten player of the year Sarah Franklin led Wisconsin with 20 kills, an assist, an ace, 11 digs and a block. Temi Thomas-Ailara had 11 kills, five digs and two blocks, and Anna Smrek had 10 kills with two errors in 20 attacks to hit .400. She added a dig and seven blocks.

The middles came up big for Wisconsin. Carter Booth had six kills, a dig and nine blocks. Caroline Crawford had two kills in four errorless trles, three digs and seven blocks. 

Setters MJ Hammill and Izzy Ashburn…