Setter Lauren Carlini was the first Wisconsin freshman to earn All-American honors after being named to the second team. The Badgers made it to the NCAA Final Four for only the second time in school history.
One more record stands for Wisconsin to break in their historic season.
The lowest seed to ever win a national championship was No. 11-seeded Stanford in 2004.
After beating defending champion and No. 1-seeded Texas 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 26-28, 25-23) the No. 12-seeded Wisconsin volleyball team (12-8 Big Ten, 28-9 overall) advanced to the NCAA final with only No. 2-seeded Penn State standing in their way of breaking that record.
Wisconsin played their typical defensive and scrappy style that stifled the top-ranked Longhorns (16-0 Big 12, 27-2).
Coming into this game, Texas had an attacking percentage of .296. Wisconsin cut that nearly in half holding them to .156, their lowest of the season.
The Badgers overcame 37 hitting errors and a .131 attacking percentage by absorbing the Longhorn firepower and tallying 72 digs, with 21 by senior libero Annemarie Hickey.
One key to victory was keeping reigning two time Big 12 Player of the Year junior hitter Haley Eckerman in check. She finished with 17 kills, but had nine hitting errors. She was the only Longhorn with double digit kills.
Wisconsin used long runs to take the first two sets, forcing the defending champions to play with their back against the wall. The Badgers had a 7-0 run in the first set and a 9-1 run in the second.
Texas responded in the third set. They took an early lead which was their first since the very beginning of the match. The Badgers battled to keep things close and it took 28 points to finally put them down.
Wisconsin answered the call after it was their turn to respond. The score went back and forth and Texas eventually took a 18-16 lead, forcing a Badger timeout.
A block by Courtney Thomas knotted the score at 21-21. The two teams went back and forth again, making it 23-23. Junior hitter Deme Morales finished the game earning the final two points of the match and securing their spots in the national championship.
The game against Penn State will be Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions swept the Badgers in both meetings this season. If anything is to be learned from this Wisconsin season, it is to expect the unexpected.
