No. 2 Nebraska will put its 17-match winning streak to the test against one of the hottest teams in the country as the Huskers travel to Madison to take on No. 7 Wisconsin Friday.
The Badgers are 9-1 in Big Ten play, one game behind Nebraska and No. 3 Penn State at the top of the Big Ten standings. The Nebraska-Wisconsin match carries significant Big Ten title implications every year, and this season is no different. However, for the Huskers, their approach doesn’t change.
“We do a really good job of looking just kind of one game at a time,” Bergen Reilly said. “Obviously, we do have our goals, and we know that this is a match that could somewhat determine the Big Ten, but we talk every day about ‘make every day like a national championship.’ Come into practice like it’s the national championship, play every game like it’s the national championship. So this obviously is a big game, but I think every other game is a big game too.”
Nebraska’s only regular season loss last season came at the UW Field House, something that has crossed the Huskers’ minds as they’ve prepared for the trip. However, the team has placed a heavy emphasis on the fact that this is a new year and a new team, and the past has no bearing on Friday’s result.
“It’s a tough atmosphere,” Reilly said. “They have really great fans there and they bring really big crowds, but I think a lot of us kind of thrive in that. We bring big crowds too, and yeah, they’re usually for us, but we all just like the noise. And so I think it’ll show our competitive sides for sure.”
Wisconsin dropped three of its first four matches, though all were against top-10 teams (Louisville, Texas and Stanford). The Badgers also dropped their first Big Ten match, a five-setter at another top-20 team in Minnesota.
Since then, the Badgers (15-4) have ripped off nine-straight wins including 3-1 over Oregon and 3-0 over Purdue, two more top-15 teams. Wisconsin is leading the Big Ten in hitting (.300), opponent hitting (.158) and blocking (3.08 per set).
“They’re pretty good,” Coach John Cook said. “Their size, they’ve got the National Player of the Year, so they do everything really well. I think the top programs do everything really well. Everybody’s got enough hitters. They’ve got a great setter, got a great libero, they do everything really well. So you’ve got to play a complete game.”
Wisconsin dealt with some injuries early in the season that contributed to the slow start and experimented with different lineups as Coach Kelly Sheffield looked to replace last year’s departures. They’ve since settled on a different rotation than the one they used in the first couple of weeks.
One constant for Wisconsin has been 2023 National Player of the Year Sarah Franklin. The outside hitter is averaging 4.41 kills per set (fourth in the Big Ten) on .295 hitting and 2.49 digs per set.
“She moves it around really well,” Cook said. “She’s a challenging player to defend. She’s got every shot.”
Anna Smrek (2.83 kills per set on .342 hitting, 1.23 blocks per set) and Devyn Robinson (2.2 kills per set on .379 hitting, 1.21 blocks per set) continue to be weapons for the Badgers in their final season. Freshman Charlie Fuerbringer (10.6 assists per set) has stepped in at setter as the Badgers have switched back to a one-setter offense after running a 6-2 last year. Freshman Lola Schumacher (3.61 digs per set) has taken over at libero.
First serve between the Huskers and Badgers is set for 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
After the Wisconsin match, Nebraska will continue on to Northwestern (4-14, 2-8 Big Ten). The Wildcats’ wins have come against Northern Illinois (twice), Maryland and Iowa. They’re last in the Big Ten in both hitting (.182) and opponent hitting (.262).
The match at Welsh-Ryan Arena will be streamed on Big Ten Plus with first serve set for 12 p.m. Northwestern announced Sunday will be the program’s first sellout.
