Wisconsin superstar receives diagnosis. Here's what we know (2024)

The University of Wisconsin volleyball team received news Wednesday on its injured superstar.

Reigning national player of the year Sarah Franklin underwent testing for an ankle injury suffered during the gold medal match of the NORCECA Pan Am Cup, which the United States lost in the fifth set to host Dominican Republic. Franklin returned home a day later and test results showed that she suffered a sprained ankle with a small fracture, Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said.

Franklin had nine kills, including to give the U.S. a 14-13 lead in the third set, when she landed awkwardly after attempting a block alongside teammate Sophie Fischer. Franklin got a hand on the ball before she fell and immediately grabbed her left ankle. The D.R. won the gold medal with a 15-11 victory in the fifth set.

Sheffield and the Badgers had cautious optimism soon after but were awaiting further testing. Her timetable to return is unknown, but her tournament was brilliant. She had 33 kills, four blocks, two aces and hit 54% and the highest percentage amongst pin hitters, according to Avid Volley. She had 10 kills and hit .625 with one block, one ace, nine receptions and six digs in a sweep of Canada, then 13 kills (.458) and two blocks in the semifinal against Puerto Rico.

“Always proud to rep the red, white, and blue,” Franklin wrote, in part, in an Instagram post Wednesday morning showcasing photos from the event.

She is the focal point of the Badgers’ attack as the team returns a strong core in search of the program’s second national championship. Wisconsin has been to four of the last five national semifinals, where it lost last season to eventual champion Texas. A few days after, Franklin was named national player of the year after she missed an offseason European tour because she was diagnosed with quadrilateral space syndrome.

Franklin dealt with blood clots and was able to recover from the rare affliction she later was diagnosed with. She became the second Badgers player to win the national award after Dana Rettke, who was part of the first Wisconsin national championship team in 2021.

Wisconsin was the best blocking team in the country last season (3.07 per set) and returns its middles in Carter Booth (1.56, fourth nationally) and Caroline Crawford, who missed the spring and underwent offseason surgery to repair a hip injury. Right-side/middle Anna Smrek and opposite Devyn Robinson earned All-American recognition alongside Booth and Franklin last season.

But the Badgers have holes to fill. Setters MJ Hammill and Izzy Ashburn, the program’s career aces leader, have moved on. No. 1 setter recruit Charlie Fuerbringer is on campus and Montana transfer Carly Anderson made a spring season possible. It’s unclear if Sheffield will continue to deploy a 6-2 system, which became the norm with Hammill and Ashburn, or if he’ll go back to a 5-1, which would create competition for the job.

But the biggest question mark facing the team is somewhat known regarding Franklin’s health. The Badgers hope to have her back when August practices ramp up to a tough nonconference schedule. Wisconsin will open the season at the same place it hopes to end it when it plays Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center on Aug. 27. Then it’s a rematch with Texas at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and a match against Stanford on Sept. 1-2 before a quick turnaround to play TCU at Baylor then against the hosts Sept. 6-7.

Dennis Punzel contributed to this report.