Volleyball
The Badgers (6-1) had a successful weekend in the annual Badger Classic tournament, sweeping both Georgia (4-5) and Kent State (5-4) in three straight sets.
After the tournament, head coach Kelly Sheffield was happy with his team’s continued progress week-to-week.
“It’s a weekend where we feel like we played a little bit better than the previous weekend,” Sheffield said.
Individually, Sheffield was particularly impressed with the play of sophomore outside hitter Kelli Bates and junior middle back Haleigh Nelson.
“I thought both of them offensively took the next step,” Sheffield said. “I think both of them, behind the service line, put a lot of pressure on our opponent, and that is certainly good to see.”
Regarding Bates, Sheffield continued to praise her improvement.
“Her ball control is really good, and her backcourt has gotten a lot better,” Sheffield said. “She is not somebody I worry about at all—she is locked in”
More importantly, as a unit, Sheffield feels that he continues to learn a little bit more about his team as the season progresses.
“Maybe, just maybe, we may end up being an okay blocking team, and maybe, just maybe, our transition attack might end up being pretty good,” Sheffield said. “Those are things we are working on that were pretty much nonexistent in the first couple weeks.”
Still, going into their matches against Kansas State (8-1), Creighton (4-5) and Arkansas (8-1) this weekend, there are still some unanswered questions in the Badger lineup. Wisconsin does not have a day-in, day-out starter at some of their positions. Junior Tori Blake and freshman Tionna Williams are fighting for playing time at middle back and freshman Madison Duello and redshirt junior Romana Kriskova are facing the same competition at right side hitter.
“We’re going to let them battle,” Sheffield said. “We just need time together.”
Football
After the Badgers’ (1-1) decisive 58-0 win in Week 2 of the college football season against Miami (OH), head coach Paul Chryst is making sure his team is still focused on improving in the week of practice leading up to their matchup against Troy (1-1) at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday.
“I think there is a ton we can get better at,” Chryst said. “You try to focus on the things you can control—and that is your own preparation.”
Offensively, the Badgers are working on solidifying their continuously changing offensive line. Redshirt junior Walker Williams has to adjust quickly to his new role, as he is now responsible for filling in at both guard and tackle. Chryst also feels that redshirt freshman Micah Kapoi, redshirt freshman Michael Deiter and redshirt sophomore Hayden Biegel all need more snaps on the right side of the line to create consistent protection.
Still, Chryst is excited about the play of his deep-receiving corps.
“Every guy earns their opportunities,” Chryst said. “Our players want to get better.”
Junior wide receiver Robert Wheelwright and redshirt senior tight end Austin Traylor, who caught 100 balls each day during the offseason, have both shown improvement and have been more involved since the start of the season. Chryst is also looking forward to getting redshirt sophomore tight end Troy Fumagalli back on the field after he sat out last week’s game with an ankle injury.
Defensively, however, Chryst still has some questions to answer, despite his team’s recent shutout. Chryst is excited about redshirt senior safety and wide receiver Tanner McEvoy’s athletic ability, but still does not know how he will hold up playing a full game on both sides of the ball. McEvoy played 73 snaps against Miami, but did not play much in the fourth quarter.
“He is a pretty unique athlete,” Chryst said. “But we don’t have an accurate gauge yet.”
The Badgers look to correct these concerns in the week ahead, and come out with an even stronger effort this weekend.
“Every game is a unique opportunity,” Chryst said. “You have to be the best team in the stadium that day.”
