Six questions facing Wisconsin volleyball as it begins the season
MADISON - The Wisconsin volleyball team begins the season this week with Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge matches in Minneapolis.
The Badgers, who are ranked No. 2 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, face No. 15 Baylor at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Maturi Pavillion on the University of Minnesota campus. On Saturday, UW returns to Maturi to face TCU 4:30 p.m.
These are the key questions facing Wisconsin as the season starts.
Will it be Julia Orzol or Gulce Guctekin at libero?
Junior Julia Orzol, an all-region performer at outside hitter last season, started at libero for the exhibition match with Illinois-Chicago on Saturday. Sophomore Gulce Guctekin, last year’s starter, played the next two sets before giving way to freshman Saige Damrow in the fourth set. What should we take from that moving forward? UW coach Kelly Sheffield wouldn't tip his hand. The future of that position, much like the team, is in Sheffield’s words a “work in progress.”
What impact will Carter Booth, Temi Thomas-Ailara have?
The biggest news of the offseason were the additions of outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara, a graduate student from Northwestern, and middle blocker Carter Booth, a sophomore from Minnesota. The early returns have been very encouraging. Booth was a force in the middle throughout the spring; Thomas-Ailara had a productive run on the Badgers’ foreign tour and is poised to start the season as a six-rotation player. Their transition should continue to be seamless.
What is in store for Devyn Robinson?
There is only one two-time All-American on the UW roster: senior Devyn Robinson. She claimed third-team distinction as a freshman and junior. Last season was her best at UW when it comes to total kills (304), blocks (122) and points (366). This year she is on track to become the 26th player in program history to reach 1,000 kills. With redshirt junior Sarah Franklin and Thomas-Ailara loading up at outside hitter, and Booth and senior Caroline Crawford manning middle blocker, Robinson’s continued presence on the right side will put opponents in a tough spot when it comes to defending UW's hitters.
How will Sarah Franklin's game grow in Year 2 at UW?
After spending two years at Michigan State that included one as a redshirt, Franklin transferred to Wisconsin and rose from an all-Big Ten performer to a third-team All-American. She didn't play any spring matches for an undisclosed reason and missed the foreign tour in June due to blood clots in her right (swinging) arm. Sheffield, however, gave high praise to her play this offseason. Franklin backed up those words with a near-flawless performance in the exhibition match last week. Franklin hit .529, recording 19 kills and just one error in 34 swings. She looks ready to improve on last season's .230 hitting percentage, which was a career best.
How valuable will be the team's depth?
On the first day of practice, the Badgers welcomed Franklin back to action after she missed time because of the blood clots. The 2022 All-American says there isn't a risk of the condition returning, but her absence, even though it came in the offseason, showed how delicate players' health can be. The good news for UW is that it should be in better shape than most teams if one of the players in its rotation suffers an injury. In addition to having a lot of options on the roster, there is a lot of versatility. That depth has led to some spirited battles in practice, competition that should serve the Badgers well in the long run. “We’re supposed to find as much depth as we can, as much talent as we can and let them compete,” Sheffield said. “(Roles) get figured out and it evolves. It evolves through health. It evolves as players grow at the end of the season. It’s rare that our end-of-the-season lineup is the same as the beginning."
Is another Big Ten title in the cards for UW?
Wiscosin's four-year string of conective Big Ten titles is tied for the second-longest in conference history. The team picked up all but one first-place vote in this year's preseason coaches poll. A fifth straight title will come down to how UW fares on a back-loaded conference slate. Eight of the Badgers' final 12 conference games are against teams that are ranked or received votes in the AVCA poll. Four of those matches are against teams in the preseason top 10: at No. 5 Nebraska, Oct. 21; vs. Minnesota, Oct. 29; at No. 8 Penn State Nov. 11; vs. Nebraska Nov. 24.
More: All-American Devyn Robinson ready to give Wisconsin "whatever my team needs"
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No. 2-ranked Wisconsin volleyball has depth, questions to answer
