Why Wisconsin volleyball has a chance to upset top-ranked Nebraska

MADISON – Ask Kelly Sheffield what makes Nebraska so tough to beat and he pulls no punches.

“They are good at every element of the game …,” the Wisconsin volleyball coach said.  “Most teams there’s things they do really well, but there’s weaknesses you can really attack. This Nebraska team, they don’t have weaknesses you can exploit.”

In the process of giving high praise to an opponent, Sheffield indirectly touches on the potential of his squad.

Despite dropping two spots to No. 5 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, the Badgers (24-3, 15-3 overall) are neck and neck with the nation's unanimous No. 1.  In the 3-hour marathon Nebraska and UW played Oct. 21, Wisconsin held the Cornhuskers to a season low .103 hitting percentage, posted 18 team blocks, the most of their opponents this season, and outscored them, 109-103, over the course of the five sets.

What that means when the teams meet at 3 p.m. Friday at the UW Field House is that anything can happen.

“Fans get really excited for this matchup as they should,” Sheffield said. “I don’t think it’s just been the tradition and the history of the two that have been consistently at the top of the Big Ten. The players have always showed up. The level of play has always been really high.”

UW is jockeying for position in NCAA Tournament field

Nebraska (27-0, 18-0) wrapped up the Big Ten title Sunday and is attempting to complete a full conference season undefeated for the first time since Penn State in 2009. Wisconsin went undefeated in 2020 but didn’t play a complete schedule due to COVID.

For Wisconsin, the match represents a final opportunity to make a statement to the NCAA Tournament selection committee that it deserves a top-four seed for the tournament. A top-four seed would allow UW to host the first and second rounds as well as the second weekend of the tournament if it advances.

As of Tuesday morning, the Badgers are sixth in the NCAA RPI, one of the tools used to select teams and place them in the bracket.

Sheffield, admittedly biased, argues that his team belongs among the top four.

“I think we’ve earned it on resume and following and attendance and TV,” he said. “Some of the matches we’ve lost we haven’t been at full strength, I would think, and we won some really good matches. I think we’ve lost two sets all year to teams outside the top 25 in RPI. I think when you look at all of that I think you can make a really good argument for us being top four.”

The Badgers would have a better argument with a win over the Cornhuskers. As it stands Tuesday morning the Badgers have two top-10 wins, No. 8 Tennessee and 10 Purdue, and three more in the top 20, No. 11 Arkansas (twice) and No. 17 Florida.

Anna Smrek's return is one reason UW could score the upset

Wisconsin’s chances will be helped by the return of Anna Smrek. The junior right-side hitter missed three matches, including losses to Penn State and Purdue, due to an upper-body injury.

She returned despite having little practice and helped the Badgers sweep Indiana on Sunday. She registered 10 kills, five blocks and tied her season-high with a .667 hitting percentage in the win.

“I think she finally took about 20 swings,” Sheffield said of the team’s practice Saturday. “(It was) the equivalent of people our age before we go play the game of basketball, we do a couple of arm circles, touch our knees and say we’re good to go. She kind of looked like that, took a few swings and said put me in coach I’m ready to do go and looked good.”

After UW’s win at Indiana, Sheffield noted that the team was as healthy as it had been in a while. The Thanksgiving week will give the Badgers four days of practice to get ready for a match that will help define their season.

This will week marks the first time in a few years Wisconsin wasn't attempting to wrap up a Big Ten title at this time of year.

That accomplishment is out of reach. Others remain.

“One of the things is we’ve changed our lineup quite a bit," Sheffield said. "The focus has had to be on us and getting right and figuring out how we need to play rather than the results. So as we’re heading down the stretch here it’s been a little bit more of ‘Let’s be playing our best volleyball'. That is where our focus appropriately needs to be put on.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why Wisconsin volleyball has a chance to upset top-ranked Nebraska