The Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team has dropped their first test of the season against the sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 3-1.
Wisconsin entered Kentucky with plenty of hope and confidence as they prepared to take on one of the toughest teams in the country in Louisville. The Cardinals proved to be too much for the Badgers, forcing Wisconsin to make mistakes in their attack as well as their service. The Badgers will fly back to Madison and prepare for two tough games ahead against #1 Texas and #5 Stanford in Milwaukee at the Fiserv Forum.
Wisconsin Badgers Volleyball Drops Game, 3-1, Against Tough #6 Louisville Cardinals
The Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team took on the difficult and experience sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals team last night in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cardinals has experience with the Badgers dating back to the 2021 National Tournament where Wisconsin defeated the Cardinals. This time, however, the result was different as the Cardinals were able to pull off the upset 3-1 victory over Wisconsin.
Heading into the game, the Wisconsin volleyball team needed to stop both Anna DeBeer and Charitie Looper to have a chance at winning the game. DeBeer did not have her best game against Wisconsin as the Badgers put plenty of pressure on her, forcing 11 errors and allowing just ten kills on 39 attempts. Looper, however, delivered 11 kills and assisted blocks as well for her team as she led the way in the scoring department.
Cardinals star Elena Scott also deserves plenty of praise for her performance against the Wisconsin volleyball team, recording a team-high 22 digs for the Cardinals. For the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team, Sarah Franklin led the way with a game-high 17 kills, six digs, and two assisted blocks. Middle blocker Anna Smrek added 12 kills and four assisted blocks for the Badgers, but struggled with her service recording four errors.
The Wisconsin volleyball team certainly did not expect to have the performance that they had against the Louisville Cardinals. The Badgers were not nearly as accurate as the Cardinals and struggled to convert many of the scoring opportunities they were given. The Wisconsin volleyball team needs to improve upon their accuracy before facing off against two of the hardest schools in the country in Texas and Stanford.
What Went Wrong For the Wisconsin Volleyball Team Against Louisville?
The beginning and the end of the problems for Wisconsin against Louisville came inside the minds of the players. It was a mental battle from the start for the Badgers, and the 38 total errors were a major representation of that. Louisville made the same amount of errors as well, but powered through and continue to make tough shots the rest of the way.
The Wisconsin volleyball team struggled to put their shots away against the Cardinals and score quick points. Louisville was not serving up meatballs against the Badgers by any means, but the Badgers took far too many shots to only take one set way from the Cardinals. Wisconsin actually committed less errors on the attack against Louisville, shooting 17.9% across four sets, but converted just 7.9% of their attacks in the second and fourth sets.
Wisconsin struggled to stay composed against Louisville and regain their composure after big errors in both their attack and service. The Badgers made 17 service errors against the Cardinals compared to the nine the Cardinals made. Throughout the game, the Cardinals also produced multiple spectacular digs that really appeared to suck the life out of Wisconsin, in particular during the second and third sets.
Credit should be given where it is due, and the Cardinals certainly deserve credit for the 65 digs they recorded against the Badgers. Wisconsin fought hard and delivered plenty of would-be kills, but it seemed as though each time the Cardinals were able to pull off the dig. At times the Wisconsin volleyball team truly made great plays that were countered by even better plays, and that is simply how sports go at times.
The Wisconsin volleyball team nor their fans should wallow in their defeat, but rather should use this time as an opportunity to grow. Wisconsin played solid volleyball but left small windows of error open that the Cardinals capitalized on, like great teams often do. For the Badgers as they go back to the drawing board, the focus should be set upon developing ways to finish their scoring opportunities.
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