injuries to important players to win the Big Ten volleyball championship and start as……
Madison: Wisconsin had a chance to have a low-pressure season in 2021 with six players back for their sixth year of volleyball, including four returning All-Americans. Those expectations were short-lived. Six games into the season, in mid-September, senior middle blocker Danielle Hart tore her ACL during practice, ending her season.
Giorgia Civita, a senior libero and defensive specialist, had her fourth ACL tear in her right knee in late September. She barely missed three weeks of time, but upon her return, she had a damaged plantar fascia, an ACL, and a brace. 53 out of 93 sets have seen her play.
Kelly Sheffield, the coach at UW, stated, “She is still finding ways to get back on the court and battle through.” Sheffield and his staff have had to rearrange lineups and move a few players about due to injury.
Still, the Badgers (25-3) secured their third Big Ten championship in a row and hold the fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament.
At the Fieldhouse, UW will play Colgate (18-9) in a first-round game on Friday at 7 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., Texas Tech (17-12) takes on Florida Gulf Coast (26-5) in the first game of the day. The winners convene on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The development of a squad and their response are some of the things you live for, according to Sheffield, whose team advanced to the national semifinals the previous year before Texas defeated them. “We have always stated that this team is a work in progress.
As coaches, we’ve had some time to work out the kinks when it comes to positioning players to fight from their strengths. After losing 3-1 at home to Purdue on November 12, the Badgers rallied to win their next five Big Ten games to secure the championship with a 17-3 record.
On November 21 in Minnesota, they lost the first two sets but came back to win 3-2. In their next game, they travelled to Nebraska and lost the first set 25-14, but they came back to win in four games and secure the league title. They swept Indiana to end the regular season.
Resilience is the necessary quality to just persevere and avoid experiencing emotional ups and downs, according to Sheffield. “They’ve done an amazing job. They’ve been rewarded thus far and haven’t given up on themselves.
When a team is facing hardship, those are the kinds of things that, as coaches, just lift your spirits. By no means is this an ideal team. But they really do adore the game. They enjoy playing with one another. Simply said, they are tough.
Sydney Hilley, a senior, was selected to the first team and all-conference team and won the Big Ten setter of the year award for the third year in a row. Dana Rettke, a middle blocker, joined Hilley in the starting lineup. Both were selected by a unanimous vote. Second-team selections included middle blocker Devyn Robinson, a sophomore, and libero/defensive specialist Lauren Barnes.
Julia Orzol, an outside hitter, won the title of rookie of the year in the league. Robinson began this season on the right side and was a third-team All-American outside hitter as a freshman. When Hart fell, she was forced to take centre stage. Joslyn Boyer, a junior, has assisted in occupying the space left by Civita’s injuries. Orzol has performed admirably, ranking second on the squad with 3.01 kills per set. Freshman Anna Smrek and sophomore Jade Demps alternated at outside hitter.
In Sheffield’s nine seasons, the University of Washington has made it to the NCAA Tournament. In 2013 and 2019, the Badgers advanced to the championship game. Do the Badgers need to start again or do they have momentum going into the NCAA Tournament? “I believe it’s both,” Sheffield affirmed. “You definitely want them to be at that moment, and I want my players to be the most self-assured individuals on the earth…
Leave a Reply