The No.7 Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team narrowly won three-of-four sets against the No. 15 Florida Gators in an intense showdown at the Kohl Center. The game brought roughly 12,300 fans into the Kohl Center and marked the first time Wisconsin beat Florida at home.
Set one was riddled with mistakes from the Badgers, and the Gators were there to pick up the slack. Wisconsin traded points with Florida early on, but continuous net violations and serving errors allowed Florida to pull ahead.
The Badgers lost the first point, but middle blocker Carter Booth earned her first block of the night on the second point of the game. This gave Wisconsin a chance to set the tone, but outsider hitter Grace Egan, who already has nine service aces this season, made her first serve of the night a net serve.
Wisconsin managed to gain a few points on the Gators with a serving run from middle blocker Natalie Wardlow.
Middle block Alicia Andrew made two big-time hits midway through the first set. This, along with a well-placed tip from setter Charlie Fuerbringer, tied the game up 15-15.
Badgers head coach Kelly Sheffield called his second timeout of the afternoon when the score shifted to 21-16, following a 5-0 Gators scoring run. The Badgers lost set one 25-19.
At the beginning of set two, Egan had her second net serve of the night and Fuerbringer attempted a tip over the net but got tangled up in the net herself.
Two calls that went against Wisconsin sparked more energy in the Badger players. Booth was up first, sending one hit that the Gators returned and a second that they could not. In an intense rally that got the Badgers up to a score of 12, Colyer made three hits before scoring. The next point, she made another attack kill.
Andrew was next in line to make a non-returnable hit from the Badgers. Then Booth made another well-placed hit, sending the ball between Florida’s back row.
Wisconsin now trailed 18-19. A serve from Fuerbringer and blocks from Egan and Booth allowed Wisconsin to tie the game.
Wisconsin fought hard in the end of the set to stay on track with Florida’s scoring. The Badgers won the set, 25-22.
Set three was the first set of the game in which Wisconsin secured the first point. The Badgers returned to their usual skill, increasing attack ability and returning on block hits.
Egan had another serving error, stepping over the line before serving. This service error and an attack error immediately after lost Wisconsin’s two point lead, but they were able to make it back in the next rallies.
Toward the end of the set, Colyer scored four crucial points from her back row hits, leading the Badgers to win the set, 25-20.
Set four started slow for Wisconsin. The Badgers lost the first point again and trailed Florida by 2-3 points much of the set.
Colyer, once again, showed her desire to get touches and came away from the game with 27 kills and a .339 hitting percentage.
Error serves became an issue in this set as well, with both Wisconsin and Florida aiming too low and hitting the net or too high and sending the ball out of bounds.
In a thriller ending to the game, the score of the fourth and final set reached 36-34, in favor of the Badgers.
In the postgame press conference, Sheffield commended his players for sticking with the game. This was the first time in six games that Wisconsin played more than three sets.
Sheffield shouted out Booth, who tallied 500 career blocks in this game, Fuerbringer, who created offensive opportunities through her setting abilities and Wardlow, who remained consistent with her serve.
“Her serve is nasty, and that environment will only help her in there,” Sheffield said of Wardlow. “I saw a player that was just going for it.”
Sheffield also talked about the offensive and defensive dynamics that required an adjustment from Wisconsin to react well toward Florida blocks. The Badgers were held to a .265 hitting percentage this game, which was significantly lower than the .400 average they came into the competition with.
This was a hard fought game, and Wisconsin wasn’t able to create runs in this game the way they were able to so easily do earlier in the season.
“I think teams that rely on runs to win are teams that put themselves in positions of weakness,” Booth said. “Today, we proved we can also get in the mud and go point-for-point with the team.”
Coming up, the Badgers will face Big Ten opponents and continue to find tougher competition like Florida. This win over the Gators was crucial for Wisconsin to prove they have the ability to compete at a higher level and are continuing to improve.
Wisconsin’s next game is at home against Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Field House.
