Wisconsin Badgers
MADISON, Wi (WSAU-UW-MADISON) — For the 12th-straight season and for the 28th time in program history, the Wisconsin volleyball team has earned a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Badgers were selected as the No. 2 seed and No. 7 overall seed in the Nebraska regional, and are set to play Fairfield and host the first and second round matches on Thursday and Friday in the UW Field House.
No. 7 Georgia Tech (20-9) takes on Tennessee (15-11) in the opening first-round match on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. before Wisconsin (23-6) faces off against Fairfield (21-11) at 7:00 p.m. First-round winners advance to the second round of the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Field House.
“You play the entire regular season to kind of prepare yourself for the NCAA tournament and this is probably the deepest that I’ve ever seen the tournament. I mean, the number of teams that I could see getting into a regional final or a final four is probably the most that I could ever remember,” says head coach Kelly Sheffield. “You’ve got to be really, really good at just taking one week at a time, one little mini tournament at a time.”
“We’re trending in the right direction, which is certainly what you want to be doing this time of the year,” says Sheffield. “It feels like we’re knocking on the door of just putting things together.”
The Badgers hold a 67-21 (.761) all-time record in the program’s 27 NCAA tournament appearances. UW is 39-10 under Sheffield in 11 years in the championship, advancing to at least the Sweet 16 round of play each season, including five appearances in the national championship final four.
UW finished third overall in the Big Ten in 2024, with a record of 23-6 and 17-3 in the Big Ten. The Badgers racked up seven wins against ranked teams, including sweeping No. 3 Penn State at the UW Field House. Wisconsin was near perfect at home, holding a 13-1 record, with the one loss coming to No. 2 Nebraska.
Nine Big Ten Conference teams made it into the NCAA tournament with Penn State and Nebraska earning top seeds in the tournament. Seven other B1G teams made it into the tournament, with Oregon as a No. 4 seed and Minnesota as a No. 6 seed in Pitt’s region. USC earned a No. 6 seed in Penn State’s region. No. 4 Purdue, Illinois and Washington represent the Conference in Louisville’s region. No. 2 Wisconsin is the only other Big Ten team in Nebraska’s region.
Comments