The Wisconsin volleyball team is off to an unfortunate 0-3 start after losing all three of their showcase matchups this season.
The Badgers had a murderer’s row of opponents to face-off against early on this season with #6 Louisville, #1 Texas, and #5 Stanford back-to-back-to-back. Wisconsin fought hard but lost 9-3 overall in the three games, which included some narrow sets that almost went the Badgers way. Wisconsin will need to focus and work on their mistakes before their matches against TCU and #23 Baylor.
Wisconsin Volleyball Struggles Early On, Winning Just Three Sets Against Tough Opponents
The Wisconsin volleyball team is off to a tough 0-3 start after dropping games against #3 Louisville, #1 Texas, and #5 Stanford. The Badgers have held their own for the most part, and only truly struggled in the third and fourth sets against Longhorns. Wisconsin lost two sets by double-digits against the Longhorns and looked hopeless in their attack at times.
The matchup against Louisville was bound to be a difficult one as Wisconsin traveled into enemy territory to take on the hometown Cardinals. Wisconsin played solid basketball against the Cardinals and nearly took two sets from them, but ultimately lost the match. The next two games for the Badgers were near their home turf, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
However, the home court advantage did not help the Badgers turn their on-court performances into wins. The Wisconsin volleyball team dropped their game against Texas and looked relatively non-competitive towards the ends. The Longhorns could truly be that good this upcoming season, but the gap between the two teams should not be that far.
Wisconsin had a better performance against the Stanford, taking the first set deep against the Cardinal and then winning the second set. The Badgers just could not quite put everything together against the Cardinal, and struggled to score in the attack when they needed to. The Wisconsin volleyball team will have to focus on what went wrong against their first three opponents in order to make a change moving forward.
What Went Wrong For the Wisconsin Badgers Volleyball Team?
The Wisconsin volleyball team did a lot right against their recent ranked opponents, but also did plenty wrong in the losses. First, Wisconsin should focus on what they did wrong and that truly starts with finding ways to score. Fifth-year outside hitter Sarah Franklin is the heartbeat of the Badgers team and specifically the offense.
Against Texas, Franklin recorded 69 total attack opportunities with a game-high 25 kills and ten errors on the attack. The next closest attacker on the Badgers team was a tie between middle blocker Anna Smrek and outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres at 23 attempts. The Badgers are almost exclusively facilitating their offense through Franklin and it has been easy for defenses to key in on the leading scorer.
The Wisconsin volleyball team needs to continue to get creative and find ways to get other players involved, particularly the freshman Shadd-Ceres. The outside hitter recorded six kills, a block, and three digs against the Longhorns and showed plenty of promise for the Badgers. Another talented freshman the Badgers need to continue to run their offense through is setter Charlie Fuerbringer.
Fuerbringer recorded 23 assists, 11 digs, and a service ace against the Longhorns and proved he can do a bit of everything for the Badgers. The freshman could become a pivotal piece of the attack as the offense can rely on excellent and accurate sets from Fuerbringer. The freshman also recorded 39 assists against Stanford and added five kills as well on just six attacks.
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