Post by Kingsley on Aug 13, 2024 7:57:22 GMT -5
Wisconsin Badgers
2023 Record: 30-4
Conference Record: 17-3 (2nd)
NCAA Tournament Placement: National Semifinal (L, 1-3 vs. Texas)
Final AVCA Ranking: 3
Head Coach: Kelly Sheffield (12th year at Wisconsin)
Record at Wisconsin: 292-61
| Returning Starters | Departures * - 2023 Starter () - Transfer Destination | New Additions () - Transfer Origin |
| Carter Booth - JR - 6'7 MB CC Crawford - SR+ - 6'3 MB Sarah Franklin - SR+ - 6'4 OH Gulce Guctekin - JR - 5'5 DS/L Julia Orzol - SR - 6'0 OH/DS/L Devyn Robinson - SR+ - 6'2 MB/RS Anna Smrek - SR - 6'9 MB/RS | Izzy Ashburn* - 5'11 S Joslyn Boyer - 5'6 DS/L MJ Hammill* - 6'2 S Sydney Reed - SR+ - 5'6 DS/L (West Virginia) Temi Thomas-Ailara* - 6'2 OH Ella Wrobel - JR - 6'4 OH (Ohio State) | Carly Anderson - SR+ - 5'9 S (Montana) Maile Chan - FR - 5'3 DS/L Charlie Fuerbringer - FR - 5'11 S Lola Schumacher - FR - 5'5 DS/L Tosia Serafinowska - FR - 6'4 MB Trinity Shadd-Ceres - FR - 5'11 OH Una Vajagic - FR - 6'0 OH Morgan Van Wie - FR - 5'11 S |
2023 Results:
The backdrop for 2023 was a year in which Wisconsin achieved one goal and fell short of another. In 2022, Wisconsin won its fourth consecutive Big Ten title. However, an upset loss to Pittsburgh kept the Badgers out of the national semifinals for the first time since 2018.
On to the next one. Wisconsin began the 2023 season in Minneapolis with wins over Baylor and TCU, matching what the Golden Gophers did on their home floor.
The Badgers had their first true road trip of the season with a double-dip at Arkansas. The first match turned into a five-set gauntlet with Wisconsin barely surviving a 15-13 fifth set. Match 2 was not nearly as difficult.
Another SEC team pushed the Badgers to the brink in Wisconsin's home opener. Tennesse trekked to Madison and nearly pulled off a 0-2 comeback. Like the Arkansas thriller, this one ended in a 15-13 decision for Bucky.
Arizona and Miami (FL) were ousted in the UW Fieldhouse. The Fiserv Forum matchup against Marquette was a bit of a mess, but Wisconsin retained its unblemished record.
Cue the third dose of SEC angst. Wisconsin's final non-conference matchup was at Florida, where the Gators quickly built a 2-0 lead. This time, it was Wisconsin's turn to mount the reverse sweep bid--with a Florida injury being a contributing factor. The fifth set was 15-13, of course.
With the non-conference struggle in the rearview and a perfect season intact, Wisconsin faced considerably fewer challenges in the first several weeks of Big Ten play. Not only did the Badgers win their first nine Big Ten contests, but they didn't drop a set in any of them.
Sure, this wasn't against the conference's upper tier. The toughest opponent during this streak was probably Indiana, and that match was at home. But this was still an impressive accomplishment.
The 9-0 B1G start set up the most highly anticipated match of the regular season as #1 Wisconsin visited #2 and undefeated Nebraska.
Wisconsin lost its first set of Big Ten play as Nebraska claimed the opening stanza. The Badgers responded by drilling the home team in the next two sets. However, the home team mustered enough late heroics to fight off a match point and win in five. The triumph ended a much-publicized dry spell in which the Huskers had not beaten Wisconsin in six years. The Set 5 score was 15-13.
The Badgers recalibrated with a win over Michigan State and a nationally televised drubbing of Minnesota. Purdue was the next team to win a set over Wisconsin, but the Badgers still won in four.
In early November, the Badgers encountered some injury issues and lineup turmoil. We'll address those later. This precipitated Wisconsin's back-to-back road losses to Penn State and Purdue. The two-match losing skid--Wisconsin's first since 2019, took the Badgers out of Big Ten title contention with the Huskers building on an undefeated season.
Still, Wisconsin spoiled that perfect campaign with a rousing home sweep over the Huskers in the regular season's final weekend. The Badgers still did enough to reclaim regional hosting rights for the NCAA Tournament.
The Badgers swept through their first two opponents and met Penn State in the regional semifinals for the second consecutive season. A strange match ended in a 3-1 triumph for the home squad. Wisconsin then pushed past Oregon to reclaim its Final Four spot in Tampa.
This is when the fun ended. Wisconsin and Texas went back and forth in the national semifinal before the Longhorns completely dominated after intermission. This was the second time in four seasons that Wisconsin had been ousted by Texas in the Final Four.
2023 Lineup:
The 6-2 was back and mostly resembled the 2022 version.
Izzy Ashburn and MJ Hammill were the returning veterans at setter. Ashburn opted to take her fifth year at Wisconsin and was part of the two-setter offense in 2022. Before that, she had a regular role as a serving sub and was sometimes a non-passing DS. Hammill missed three mid-October matches due to injury, allowing Ashburn to have a brief stint in a 5-1.
The opposites were still senior Devyn Robinson and junior Anna Smrek. Robinson was paired with Ashburn and Hammill with Smrek--another constant from 2022. This opposite duo could act as middle hybrids with Robinson running slides and Smrek frequently attacking on quicks in front of the setter.
Robinson missed the same matches as Hammill, giving Smrek the nod in the 5-1. The larger ripple effects came from Smrek's three-match injury absence that encompassed the Penn State and Purdue losses. Again, we'll get there.
The outside hitters were both former standouts at other Big Ten schools. Fourth-year pin attacker Sarah Franklin was coming off back-to-back 400-kill campaigns--one at Michigan State and the most recent with the Badgers. She somehow managed to raise the bar further with 486 kills on a colossal 0.300 clip in 2023. Franklin was named the 2023 AVCA National Player of the Year.
Across the dial was fifth-year senior Temi Thomas-Ailara, who tallied over 1,500 kills in a Northwestern uniform. That offensive production waned in her lone year in Madison, but that was supposed to happen on a more balanced team. She tallied 268 kills in 2023 while almost exclusively playing across the front row.
For most of the year, Thomas-Ailara was the outside hitter next to Ashburn and Franklin was one spot to the left of Hammill. This orientation was flipped in late November and into the tournament with Franklin situated next to Ashburn. Either way, Wisconsin was partial to starting Franklin in left front and letting their all-American go to work.
Thomas-Ailara's DS was sophomore Gulce Guctekin. The Turkish defender was thrust into the starting role in 2022 but was often maligned for her passing. This prompted Wisconsin to shift tenured outside hitter Julia Orzol to the libero jersey and wield Guctekin for only three rotations. Orzol performed admirably in the contrasting jersey after two years as an outside hitter, but her attacking days weren't entirely over.
When Smrek temporarily left the picture late in conference play, Orzol returned to her six-rotation hitting roots and gave way to Guctekin at libero. This had the ripple effect of moving Thomas-Ailara from outside to opposite. The sudden lineup shuffle played a role in Wisconsin falling behind in the conference race.
The middle blockers were sophomore Carter Booth and senior CC Crawford. Booth transferred in after her debut season at Minnesota and led the Big Ten in blocks per set (4th in NCAA). Crawford finished third in that tally. This pair anchored the NCAA's top blocking team in stuffs per set, and Booth hit 0.431 on the year to finish fifth nationally.
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2024 Projected Lineup:
What happens now?
Conventional wisdom from some in Madison suggests that the 6-2 will die in 2024. I'm not ready to give it up, and maybe that's because it has a special place in my heart. For the sake of completionism, I'll address both possibilities.
A 5-1 would put the offense in the hands of true freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer. The California native is widely recognized as one of the top Class of 2024 recruits and has ample experience in USAV development programs and national teams. Running the show in Wisconsin would be a major transition, but the Badgers haven't shied away from deploying first-year setters.
Robinson and Smrek return, giving Wisconsin both of its 6-2 opposites from the past two seasons. Moving to a 5-1 would remove one of these opposite positions. The standard idea here is to move Robinson to middle blocker and make Smrek the lone figure on the right side. Robinson has a prep background as a middle blocker and had an extended stay at the position during Wisconsin's 2021 championship run.
This change would preclude Wisconsin from phasing out an opposite and put the onus on the middle blockers instead. Booth is staying in the lineup as the M1 in this scenario. The odd one out would have to be Crawford, but we could also see a platoon with various substitutions.
Franklin would slot into the L1 spot in a 5-1. The reigning National POY is on the mend from an ankle injury while competing at this summer's Final Six in the Dominican Republic. Franklin's health is obviously paramount.
Orzol will probably return to the outside across from Franklin. Thomas-Ailara departs, and two-year backup Ella Wrobel has left for Ohio State. Pin depth is a serious concern with true freshman Trinity Shadd-Ceres the only other left-side attacker in the picture. Late freshman signee Una Vajagic will not play due to an ACL injury.
Guctekin would seem to be the favorite to reclaim the libero jersey. Of course, we could also see a repeat of 2023 where someone takes it from her. This would have to be sophomore Saige Damrow or one of two freshmen. Munciana alum Lola Schumacher is a notable addition.
Let's say the 6-2 makes a triumphant return. In this instance, you could maintain the status quo in a lot of ways. Robinson and Smrek are still the opposites. The middles are the same as last year, allowing Crawford to stay on the floor. Franklin and Orzol would play all the way around, leaving only the libero jersey up for grabs among the defensive specialists.
The big variable here would be the second setter. This would either be Montana graduate transfer Carly Anderson or true freshman walk-on Morgan Van Wie. Anderson was a spring enrollee and a two-time second-team Big Sky selection with the Grizzlies.
2024 Schedule:
Wisconsin's lineup of choice will be featured on opening night of the volleyball season. The Badgers have a tough road tilt with Louisville as part of the AVCA First Serve Showcase. We'll all have fun.
Texas and Stanford are next on the docket as Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum hosts the Women's College Volleyball Showcase. That's a lot of showcases.
TCU and Baylor are back for the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. It's not a showcase, but it's a challenge. It's not as much of a challenge as the prior showcases, but still a challenge nonetheless.
Wisconsin faces Milwaukee in its home opener. Then, the Kohl Center welcomes Marquette, which is also from Milwaukee.
Troy and Texas A&M wrap it up.
Put a bow on it:
| Home + Away | Home | Away |
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2024 Outlook:
Wisconsin will not relinquish its place in the Big Ten's top tier, but where do the Badgers land in the national picture?
The best-case scenario always has Wisconsin vying for a national championship. This would rely on Franklin maintaining her 2023 form along with all the other returning veterans.
But this is also about the unknowns. The newness at setter is central to these new variables, and Wisconsin will ask a lot of their true freshman no matter which system prevails. It has worked for the Badgers before.
Orzol's anticipated return to outside hitter creates further variables, both in Orzol's effectiveness as an attacker and the residual impact at libero. Can Guctekin deliver the passing Wisconsin needs, or does someone else take the initiative?
Even with all these considerations, Wisconsin has ample firepower and experience to make a return trip to the Final Four. The conference title race will have a formidable challenger, but the Badgers will be in the mix.
