MADISON, Wis. — The No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team welcomes No. 2 Nebraska to the Field House on Friday evening at 8 p.m. before traveling to Illinois for a Sunday afternoon match at 1 p.m. Friday’s game will air on the Big Ten Network, while Sunday’s game will be available on B1G+.

Before the match starts, here are six things you need to know:

1. LAST TIMEOUT: The Badgers earned a key road victory last weekend, defeating No. 10 Purdue 25-20, 25-23, 25-13 on Saturday afternoon. First year setter Charlie Fuerbringer set a career-high with four aces. Wisconsin defeated Purdue 15-7, as Carter Booth counted seven himself. Two nights earlier, the Badgers defeated Indiana in straight sets. Once again, the Badgers mounted a lockdown clinic, logging fourteen roofs, compared to Indiana’s three. First-year libero Lola Schumacher recorded 20 digs for her third 20+ dig match of the season.

2. NINE…AND COUNTING: Wisconsin is currently on a nine-game win streak and has steadily improved on both sides of the ball. In its last nine games, Wisconsin is hitting .338 while holding its opponents to .115. Sara Franklin is averaging 4.17 kills/set while hitting .325. Anna Smrek has come alive, reaching double-digit kill totals in three consecutive matches. She has averaged 3.31 kills per set during the streak. Defensively, the Badgers are averaging 13.83 digs per set and 3.90 blocks per set. Booth leads the pack with 1.96 blocks/set, while Smrek (1.52), Crawford (1.37) and Robinson (1.21) each average a block per set. Freshman Lola Schumacher leads the team with 4.21 digs/set, while Franklin (2.41), Orzol (2.17), Fuerbringer (1.72) and Gucetkin (1.66) come in with almost two digs per set.

3. BLOCKTOBER: CC Crawford reached a milestone Thursday in a 3-0 sweep of Indiana. Crawford recorded a match-high eight blocks and recorded her 600th career block in the second set of the match. On Sunday at Purdue, junior Carter Booth needed just six blocks to reach 400 career blocks. As a team, the Badgers recorded a total of 15.0 team blocks, with Booth contributing to seven of those, reaching 400 in the second set.



4. WHITE-OUT IN THE FIELD HOUSE: Friday night’s game against Nebraska will be a whiteout. All fans are encouraged to wear their white Badger gear and help whiten the Field House.

5. SCOUTING THE HUSKERS: Big Ten rival Neraska leads the Badgers overall, 20-13-1. Before last season’s five-set heartbreaker in Lincoln, the Badgers had won 10 in a row against the Huskers. UW hasn’t lost at home to Nebraska since the 2013 season, Sheffield’s first season with the team. Currently, Nebraska has a record of 20-1 with the only loss coming to SMU in their fourth game of the season. The Mustangs won them 25-23, 25-21, 25-18. The Huskers recorded a 3-1 victory over Michigan last weekend. They didn’t graduate anyone from last season and added outside hitter Taylor Landfair. Bergen Reilly has been named Big Ten Setter of the Week three times this season and leads the Big Ten with 11.25 assists per set.

6. EXPLORING THE ILLINI: Historically, Illinois barely has the edge over UW, with a 49-48-1 advantage. The Badgers have won the last nine meetings between the two teams. The Fighting Illini are 14-6 overall this season, and 6-4 in conference play. They are coming off a 3-1 win over Iowa. Outside hitter Raina Terry is just below that Sara Franklin ranks fifth in the Big Ten for kills per set, averaging 4.32.