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Post by rainbowbadger on Mar 31, 2021 9:29:08 GMT -5
#1 Wisconsin vs. Michigan Thursday, April 1, 2021 - 6 PM Central | Friday, April 2, 2021 - 2 PM Central Field House - Madison, Wisconsin Will it be an April Fool's, or will we actually get some volleyball this weekend? Crossing my fingers this one's a go, since this weekend's games are for the Big Ten Championship, such as it is. Going into the weekend, Wisconsin sits atop the Big Ten at 13-0. In second place is Nebraska, whose 14-2 (.875) regular season record is locked in now that their final weekend matches against Penn State have been canceled due to COVID in Happy Valley. In third place is Minnesota at 13-2, who can improve to 15-2 (.882) if they win both matches against Iowa this weekend, or fall to 14-3 (.824) or 13-4 (.765) with one or two losses. Ohio State's weekend series against Indiana was cancelled due to COVID in Bloomington, so they're also locked in at 15-3 (.833). Wisconsin can, of course, keep first place by remaining undefeated. Mathematically, the Badgers can split with Michigan and still retain first place with an 14-1 (.933) record. Two losses against Michigan would drop Wisconsin to 13-2 (.867), and either 2nd or 3rd place in conference depending on what happens with Minnesota. Michigan currently sits at 4-7. Even a sweep of Wisconsin won't bring them to a .500 record. It's unfortunate, as Michigan's got a number of talented players, but COVID has been battering the Mitten State all year, and Wolverine Volleyball is yet another casualty. Follow AlongVideo: BTN Thursday, ESPNU Friday Audio: U 100.9 FMStats: SidearmPreviews: Wisconsin, MichiganLikely StartersWisconsinOH - Haggerty/Loberg (or Kraft or Demps) MB - Rettke/Hart Opp - Robinson S - Hilley L - Barnes DS - Civita SS - Ashburn MichiganOH - Mruzic/Jones MB - Bair/Robinson Opp - Pertofsky (or Murray) S - Johnson L - Grant DS - Humphrey The seriesOverall: Wisconsin leads the series 59-21. Last meeting: Wisconsin beat Michigan 3-1 in Ann Arbor on October 27, 2019. Did you know...?Both the wolverine and the badger belong to the Mustelidae (weasel) family.
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Post by ilikecorn on Mar 31, 2021 9:35:46 GMT -5
Go Blue!
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Post by hipsterfilth on Mar 31, 2021 9:45:21 GMT -5
Re: Michigan’s record. I don’t think they deserve a spot in the postseason, but I’ve heard competing answers here- is a record above .500 a requirement this season? I heard that requirement was scratched, which seems weird in a season where even fewer at-large bids are being handed out.
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Post by Brutus Buckeye on Mar 31, 2021 9:51:35 GMT -5
First the Badgers will win match 1. After that, they will do the same in match 2.
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Post by northwoods on Mar 31, 2021 10:07:27 GMT -5
Will there be some semblance of a Senior night for the camera Friday? Anti-climactic I suppose..... Maybe just have a night next season for anyone not returning, when fans are back in the Fieldhouse.
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Post by bprtbone on Mar 31, 2021 10:23:55 GMT -5
We're sending our volleyball lambs out to Madison for the Easter slaughter. Please be gentle, Badgers.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Mar 31, 2021 10:58:23 GMT -5
Re: Michigan’s record. I don’t think they deserve a spot in the postseason, but I’ve heard competing answers here- is a record above .500 a requirement this season? I heard that requirement was scratched, which seems weird in a season where even fewer at-large bids are being handed out. Oh.... I'm not sure?
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jiml
Sophomore
Go Badgers
Posts: 234
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Post by jiml on Mar 31, 2021 11:07:55 GMT -5
I think this year that ad-hoc NCAA bids require 10 matches played, but not being 0.5. So in the event that MI were to sweep WI, they would be eligible.
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Post by badgerbreath on Mar 31, 2021 11:30:44 GMT -5
There is no requirement for a 0.500 record this year. I can understand why. Typically, a team in the B1G or PAC can have a losing conference record and still beat a lot of good teams from other conferences in the preseason, giving them a >0.500 record.
With schedules being restricted to only in conference matches, and schedule evenness being further tilted by covid cancellations, a strong team that would normally win enough matches OOC against strong competition could easily have a record below 0.500. I'm not that sure Michigan falls into that category this year. They really need Pertofsky.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Mar 31, 2021 12:26:26 GMT -5
I see Murray played against Nebraska last weekend instead of Pertofsky. Will Pertofsky be available? Is she injured?
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Post by Kingsley on Mar 31, 2021 12:35:17 GMT -5
I see Murray played against Nebraska last weekend instead of Pertofsky. Will Pertofsky be available? Is she injured? She was supposedly sick (not COVID-19). She actually got in really late in the second match of the series while Michigan was getting blown out. Will she be available? Probably. But I wouldn’t guarantee that she starts or plays.
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Post by bprtbone on Mar 31, 2021 13:19:03 GMT -5
I see Murray played against Nebraska last weekend instead of Pertofsky. Will Pertofsky be available? Is she injured? She was supposedly sick (not COVID-19). She actually got in really late in the second match of the series while Michigan was getting blown out. Will she be available? Probably. But I wouldn’t guarantee that she starts or plays. She clearly wasn't 100% last weekend. She also did not appear in a team photo earlier this week, although that might not be related to illness or injury. She's one of our best servers and most efficient attackers, Blue is much better with her in the lineup.
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Post by SportyBucky on Mar 31, 2021 14:40:55 GMT -5
We're sending our volleyball lambs out to Madison for the Easter slaughter. Please be gentle, Badgers. Just hoping your lambs don't bring latent disease. Please keep that in MI.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Mar 31, 2021 16:03:49 GMT -5
Okay, with tOSU/Indy canceled, two losses this weekend will put Wisconsin second if Minny also drops one or more against IA (which I find unlikely).
If Minny sweeps and we get swept, then Minny's 1st, Nebraska is 2nd, and we're 3rd. If Minny splits and we get swept, then Nebraska is 1st, we're 2nd, and Minny is 3rd. If both Minny and we get swept, then Nebraska is 1st, we're 2nd, Ohio State is 3rd, and Minny is 4th.
So both the Huskers and the Nuts are gonna be hoping for bad juju to descend upon Madison and Minneapolis.
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Post by bruinsgold on Mar 31, 2021 17:32:45 GMT -5
Win or lose, I just really hope Jones has a good match. Other than that first Indiana match, this hasn't been the strongest of seasons for her 😳
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