Often, the first few games of a team’s season can be an indicator of overall success. Win a few and the overall season outlook looks positive — drop a couple and that team puts themselves in a tough position to battle back for conference and potential playoff prowess.
If any fans left the Field House worried after watching Wisconsin drop its first set of the season a few days ago against Marquette, those concerns were promptly put to rest Saturday night. In its best performance of the season, No. 5 UW (9-0) thrashed Southern Mississippi by a score of 25-8, 25-10, 25-11, making quick work of the Golden Eagles to secure the Badger Classic tournament title.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers (8-0) as they faced unranked Marquette (5-5) Thursday night at the UW Fieldhouse. Until last night the Badgers hadn’t lost a single set, but with strong leadership from its seniors, UW pulled out a win of three sets to one victory over the Eagles, 19-25, 25-13, 25-21, 26-24. Senior Kelli Bates lead the team with 17 kills and 10 digs to earn herself a double-double and sophomore M.E.
Building a strong defense is a task that generally takes time and practice. Progression on the defensive side of the court typically occurs at a gradual pace, as players slowly develop a rapport with one another and learn how to play together as one cohesive unit.
Another magnificent performance in the middle helped propel the Badgers to victory in the final round of the HotelRed Invitational, as No. 6 Wisconsin (7-0) took down Texas A&M (3-3) by a score of 25-19, 25-23, 25-10, clinching the HotelRed Invitational Saturday night at the Field House. The combination of middle blockers Tionna Williams and Dana Rettke were dialed in at all times and devastated the Aggies up front.
Despite coming dangerously close to losing its first set of the season, No. 6 Wisconsin (6-0) managed to walk away from the UW Field House unscathed yet again, sweeping the Lipscomb Bison (4-3) by a score of 25-19, 25-19, 26-24, in the first round of the annual HotelRed Invitational Thursday night. After gaining a 2-0 set-lead, the Badgers had to fight tooth and nail for the final frame of the match.
For the past several years, the Wisconsin volleyball program has served as a remarkable testament to the value of assembling a roster rich with experience and leadership.
Playing three matches over the course of just two days, No. 6 Wisconsin (5-0) turned what easily could have been a tumultuous and tiresome road trip into an impressive display of dominance, picking up sound victories over Syracuse, Arkansas and Kansas State to capture the championship in the K-State Invitational this weekend. The Badgers opened their 2017 road campaign by traveling to Kansas and competing in a rare doubleheader.
After Friday night’s performance in the UW Fieldhouse, all four teams in the annual Big 10/ACC Challenge had limited time to rest up and prepare for their opponent Saturday night.
Following an offseason rife with roster turnover and personnel change, the Wisconsin Badgers arrived at the UW Field House Friday night in its opening match of 2017 looking quite different than it had a year ago. Despite adding eight players over the summer, seven of whom are freshmen, the reconfigured, seventh-ranked Badgers (1-0) appeared to have little trouble finding their footing on the floor, sweeping the Louisville Cardinals (0-1) by a score of 25-18, 25-19, 26-24 in the first round of the annual Big Ten/ACC challenge. For a team comprised of thirteen underclassmen, the fate of the Badgers’ season will largely rest in the hands of players who have yet to prove themselves at the collegiate level. But if Friday’s victory over Louisville serves as any indication of things to come, head coach Kelly Sheffield’s team should fare just fine.
In early April, Lauren Carlini stepped under the bright lights of the Big Apple and took a seat atop the stage inside the storied New York Athletic Club, utterly unprepared for the historic moment she would soon experience. Among some of the finest amatuer athletes in the world, the former Wisconsin setter felt exceedingly privileged to receive recognition as a finalist for the AAU James E.
Men's Basketball: Hayes delivers dagger into Nova's repeat bid With 20.3 seconds remaining and the No. 8 seed Badgers tied 62-62 against the No. 1 overall seed Villanova Wildcats, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard called a timeout, looking to draw up the most important set piece of the Badgers’ season.
Midway through the first half of the Badgers’ November matchup with Chicago State, D’Mitrik Trice buried a three and pounded his chest in celebration.
On Monday night, four Wisconsin student-athletes added to their seemingly never-ending lists of accolades earning with the highest honors one can receive as a Badger athlete at the Buckingham’s.
As the Badgers trotted off the court and into the locker room at the end of the second set of the regional final match Saturday night, the fans who filled the seats in the Field House roared with excitement, feeling the dream of a Final Four berth slowing becoming a reality. Three sets later, the raucous atmosphere inside the Field House had been replaced with sobering silence, as the thousands of fans who once seemed so confident in their team struggled to come to grips with what they just witnessed.
Two teams extremely familiar with each other fought until the very end in a Sweet 16 match for the ages that had one team screaming for joy after a comeback. The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (17-3 Big Ten, 28-4 overall) took on Ohio State (10-10, 22-12) for the third time this season, in a match that was very different from the first two meetings.
After putting together one of the most successful regular seasons in program history, the 2016 Wisconsin Badgers is a team well-versed in the art of record-breaking. While this group of Wisconsin players is hailed for achievements like earning the highest postseason seed ever, the Wisconsin fanbase has made some history in its own right, shattering the average attendance for home matches this year. But now, much like he does with his own team, head coach Kelly Sheffield is trying to give Badgers’ fans some extra motivation to make the proverbial postseason push. During his weekly press conference Monday afternoon, Sheffield made the announcement that he and his wife would donate up to 1,000 tickets to Wisconsin students for the upcoming regional final match against Ohio State at the Field House.
Midway through the third set of a win over Washington State last Friday, Wisconsin senior captain Haleigh Nelson hustled up to the frontline and let her instincts take over.
Ohio State Buckeyes Coming off of a loss to Indiana on Nov. 5, their third in four games, Ohio State’s chances of making a third-consecutive Sweet 16 appeared slim.
If there is one lesson to be learned from the first two rounds of the 2016 NCAA tournament, it is that Wisconsin’s defense succumbs to no one. One night after holding its first round opponent Howard to an abysmal .050 hitting percentage in a winning effort Thursday at home, Wisconsin’s defense continued to dominate, as the No. 3-seeded Badgers (17-3 Big Ten, 28-4 overall) dismantled the Washington State Cougars (12-9 Pac-12, 22-13 overall) in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 sweep at the Field House Friday night. Wisconsin stymied Washington State from top to bottom, shutting the Cougars down at every turn.
Solutions by The State News
