Wisconsin's return to the NCAA volleyball Final Four ends in disappointment and frustration
TAMPA, Fla. – This was a painful way to end a season for the Wisconsin volleyball team.
The Badgers were overmatched in a four-set loss to defending national champion Texas on Thursday night in front of 19,598 at Amalie Arena. The outcome set up a national final between Texas (27-4) and Nebraska (33-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16 loss was UW’s most lopsided of the season. A number of benchmarks explained why.
Four Longhorns reached double-digit kills as Texas hit .274, the highest for a Wisconsin opponent this season. Meanwhile, the Badgers’ .223 hitting percentage was their second-worst of the 2023 campaign.
What stung the most, though, were Texas’ 11 aces, six by junior Madisen Skinner. That total was the second-most for a Wisconsin opponent this season and it matched the Badgers’ service errors for the night.
“When they came out of the locker room (for the third set), I thought their serving kind of turned the tide,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I thought they were very courageous behind the service line and really (were) putting a lot, a lot of pressure on our patterns, service patterns.”
All-American Sarah Franklin and junior Anna Smrek finished with a team-high 13 kills each for Wisconsin, which finished 30-4. Temi Thomas-Ailara, a graduate student, added nine kills.
Texas forced UW off its game most of the match
Though the Longhorns dominated from the service line during the final two sets, they kept UW off balance for most of the night.
Texas focused most of its attention on Franklin, normally a more-than-capable passer who received 52 serves. The goal, Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said, was to try to wear her down.
“We tried to have the next-ball mentality,” Franklin said. “Sometimes with how tough the serve is, it kind of gets away a little bit. We knew they were going to be a strong team, so we tried to really focus on trying to get that next point and just siding out quicker.”
Wisconsin’s .874 serve receive percentage was its lowest since mid-October, one indication of how tough a time the Badgers were having getting their offense started.
It was one of those nights when Wisconsin never seemed comfortable.
In the first set, the Badgers forced ties six times but could never take the lead. They led by as many as eight points in the second set but lost almost all of that advantage before eventually closing out the game.
The final two sets were the Longhorns’ best of the night. Their attack was fueled by their work from the service line. They aced Wisconsin three times in the third set and six times in a tough fourth set when the Badgers trailed by as many as 10.
Wisconsin had been on the other end of so many performances like this. Texas was sprinting to the finish and the Badgers were in no condition to stop it.
The loss ended a season in which the Badgers were ranked No. 1 for eight straight weeks and reached the Final Four for the fourth time in five seasons.
Most of the Badgers expected to return next season
Setters Izzy Ashburn and MJ Hammill as well as Thomas-Ailara and defensive specialist Joslyn Boyer have completed their eligibility. The rest of the team is expected to return with Franklin and seniors Devyn Robinson and Caroline Crawford expected to use their COVID year of eligiblity.
This was a close bunch.
"I think even in the toughest moments, this team has looked around and we know we're exactly right where we want to be,” Ashburn said. “It's something we talk about a lot. We talk about the hardest practices we've been through, the hardest lifts and conditions we've been through, and we've always just looked around with so much joy and been exactly where we want to be.”
More: What's ahead for the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team in 2024? Here's an early look.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Badgers fall to Texas Longhorns in NCAA volleyball semifinal
