The Wisconsin volleyball team cruised past Big Ten opponents Illinois and Michigan at home over the weekend, sweeping both in dominant fashion. Both competitions saw closer scoring than the Badgers have seen in recent games, but fighting through a lack of scoring runs and focusing on clean kills pushed Wisconsin through.
Notably, younger players stood out significantly in these games, showcasing the depth of the Wisconsin roster and the team’s ability to seize opportunities.
Illinois
Wisconsin entered their game with Illinois with a record of 9-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. They handled Illinois in three sets, not allowing the Fighting Illini to score more than 20 points in a single set.
Set one of this match seemed to be a toss up until about halfway through. Wisconsin and Illinois traded points, and neither gained enough momentum to go on a scoring run. Both teams were making good kills, few attack and service errors.
Point nine is where it changed. The Badgers were able to make one kill, then capitalize on an attack error by Illinois and create two more good kills for four points. This put Wisconsin ahead 13-9.
Illinois then made a return, once even having a higher score than Wisconsin. But the Badgers finished the set with an impressive 10-0 run. The set ended with a score of 25-15 for Wisconsin.
The second set started off a bit stronger for Wisconsin, with a four point run early on. Through the middle of the set, the Badgers made good contact with the ball and set up plays well, allowing them to get positioning for kills.
Natalie Wardlow had a service ace later on in set two, when she served nine times to put the Badgers ahead 15-6. Wisconsin won this set 25-17.
The third and final set was the closest competition of the night. Both teams made more errors, but Wisconsin players fought to stay at the top by using Illinois mistakes and finding good block timing. Mimi Colyer had the lone solo block of the night, but Carter Booth, Alicia Andrew and Madison Quest found block assists for the Badgers as well. In total, the team had 19 blocks against Illinois.
In the final moments of the match, the Fighting Illini made a five-point run, but Wisconsin was too far ahead, and the game ended 25-20 in the third set.
Wisconsin fought hard against Illinois, focusing on making hits connect and kills count. Illinois was also forced into attack errors, which accounted for a good number of Wisconsin’s points in this match.
A notable player in this game was Colyer, who had a team-high 16 kills on the night. Colyer also had her own service ace.
Wisconsin came out of this game with a season-high 56 digs. Kristen Simon and Aniya Warren led the Badgers with 14 and 10 digs, respectively.
Wisconsin’s younger players have been crucial in their last few conference games.
“These guys are just getting their career started,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said, referring to the contributions of the team’s underclassmen. “They’ve got very high ceilings and they’re hungry.”
Colyer and Booth were the only Badger upperclassmen to play in this game.As Sheffield and the Badgers move into tougher competition in the Big Ten, prepping younger players for consistent play and longer games is crucial.
Michigan
Wisconsin competed much more closely with Michigan, winning the three sets 25-22, 25-22 and 25-20. This was Wisconsin’s second annual Silent Set Match, an effort to bring awareness to the hard of hearing and deaf community..
Point nine, the point to break Wisconsin’s silent crowd, came from a service ace from setter Addy Horner.
Wisconsin’s first set was dampered when Fuerbringer left the game with an injury. After going up for a joust, Fuerbringer grabbed her shoulder. She later came back with ice on her shoulder and a sling on her right arm and does not have a timeline for a return.
Horner filled in for Fuerbringer. She tallied 35 point assists, three block assists and seven digs.
Both Wisconsin and Michigan struggled to make impactful runs, and Michigan led by a point or two for most of the set. The Wolverines went on a four-point run to put them ahead 14-10, but Wisconsin was able to fight back, scoring two points to every Michigan one.
Along with Horner, Sheffield also rotated in Chan, a sophomore libero who proved crucial in moving Michigan out of position.
The final point was served from Chan, set from Horner and killed by Andrew for a final set score of 25-22 for the Badgers.
Set two was much of the same for the competitors and fans. Wisconsin managed a four-point run in the middle of the set, which allowed them to stay slightly ahead. They finished with the same result: 25-22, another Wisconsin victory.
Two four-point runs allowed the Badgers to dominate the third set. Set three accounted for 17 of Wisconsin’s 47 kills in the game. Colyer recorded ateam high of 23 kills.
The Badgers finished this set with a score of 25-20.
With these two wins, Wisconsin marked its tenth-straight win and fifth-straight sweep, with four of those coming in conference play.
A large part of Wisconsin’s success has been the ability to rely on all of their players and know they are ready to compete at this level at moments notice.
“I’m really proud of [Fuerbringer] and her ability to move on to the next play,” Sheffield said. “She’s unflappable; that is one of her greatest strengths.”
With Fuerbringer’s injury early on in the Michigan game, Wisconsin needed a ready and consistent setter to step in, and Horner was there.
“We try to be a program and a team that doesn’t make excuses because there are opportunities to rise up,” Sheffield said.
Wisconsin is now top three in the Big Ten, alongside Indiana and Nebraska, who have also not lost a single Big Ten matchup.
Looking ahead, the Badgers will face Big Ten opponents Penn State and Maryland on the road.
