The University of Wisconsin volleyball team has lost all three varsity matches this season, getting off to a disappointing 0-3 start.
The Badgers faced tough opponents in back-to-back games against No. 6 Louisville, No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Stanford earlier this season. Wisconsin fought hard but lost the three games by a combined score of 9-3, including some close sets in which the Badgers looked to have the upper hand. Wisconsin needs to focus and correct its mistakes before games against TCU and No. 23 Baylor.
Wisconsin volleyball struggles early, winning just three sets against tough opponent
The Wisconsin volleyball team is off to a tough start, going 0-3 with losses in matches against No. 3 Louisville, No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Stanford. The Badgers held up for most of the match, only really struggling in the third and fourth sets against the Longhorns. Wisconsin dropped two sets against the Longhorns by double digits and looked desperate on offense.
Wisconsin was going to have a tough matchup against Louisville, traveling to the Cardinals’ home field. Wisconsin played solid basketball against the Cardinals and came close to taking two sets, but ultimately lost. The Badgers’ next two games were played at Fiserv Forum in their home town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
But home court advantage didn’t help the Badgers translate their on-court performance into wins. The Wisconsin volleyball team lost a game against Texas and was relatively uncompetitive down the stretch. The Longhorns could be really good this season, but the gap between the two teams shouldn’t be that big.
Wisconsin performed better against Stanford, dominating the first set against Cardinal and winning the second. The Badgers just couldn’t put it all together against Cardinal and struggled to score on offense when they needed to. The Wisconsin volleyball team needs to focus on what went wrong in their first three matches to make changes going forward.
What happened to the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team?
The Wisconsin volleyball team played well in many ways against recent highly ranked opponents, but also made many mistakes in the losses. First, Wisconsin should focus on what went wrong, and that starts with finding ways to score. Fifth-year outside hitter Sarah Franklin is the heart of this Badgers team, especially on offense.
Against Texas, Franklin recorded 69 total offensive opportunities to go along with a game-high 25 kills and 10 offensive errors. The next closest on the Badgers team in terms of offensive attempts were middle blocker Anna Smulek and outside hitter Trinity Shad-Seles, who both had 23. The Badgers drove their offense almost exclusively through Franklin, making it easy for defenses to focus on their leading scorer.
The Wisconsin volleyball team will need to continue to get creative and find ways to get other players involved, especially freshman Shad Seles. The outside hitter recorded six kills, one block and three digs against the Longhorns and showed great promise for the Badgers. Another talented freshman the Badgers should continue to carry on offense is setter Charlie Feuerbringer.
Fuhrbringer proved he can do it all for the Badgers, recording 23 assists, 11 digs and an ace against the Longhorns. The freshman will be a key player on offense, as they can rely on Fuhrbringer for good, accurate sets. The freshman recorded 39 assists against Stanford, along with five kills on just six attempts.
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