Football
After coming off a huge, upset victory in week one versus LSU, the Badgers continued their hot start to the season with a 54-10 romp over Akron. The Badger’s offense clicked in all aspects with heavy contributions from senior running back Corey Clement, redshirt junior wide receiver Jazz Peavy and redshirt senior quarterback Bart Houston.
Head coach Paul Chryst spoke a lot about the team’s preparation, not only on offense, but also on defense in practice and coming to work day in, day out.
“It was fun being in Camp Randall,” Chryst said, “We’re looking forward to it this week and doing it again.”
One of the points to highlight in the Akron game is the standout performance from Peavy. He led the Badgers with seven receptions for an even 100 yards and two touchdowns.
When asked about the performance by the receiving core, Chryst praised his unit.
“Jazz did some good things,” Chryst said, “As did Rob [Wheelwright]. We still have a lot of work to do to be where we want to be and where we should be, but I feel good with how they’re approaching it.”
Chryst didn’t do much criticizing of his team, attributing their success on offense and defense to the team’s preparation.
“They have some really good football players, on offense and defense,” said Chryst when asked to discuss the upcoming game against Georgia State. “Their pace looks like it can go pretty fast so we need to keep working on that.”
It sounds as though the team’s focus will once again be converting third downs on offense, forcing as many three and outs as possible and getting the offense to continue flowing.
The Badgers are now 2-0 on the season and will play at Camp Randall against the Panthers of Georgia State this Saturday at 11 a.m.
Women’s Volleyball
After starting the season 6-1, with their most recent match being a 3-0 victory of Louisville, the women’s volleyball team will play two more matches, both away before starting conference play.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield spent the majority of the press conference discussing the team’s injuries and the adjustments the team has had to make, especially in big games.
Last Friday, the Badgers went on the road to UNC and lost in five sets. “I think we missed an opportunity to slide into a top ten or fifteen ranking with a win on Friday.” said Sheffield when discussing the loss.
Wisconsin switched up its lineup a bit for the first time this campaign.
“We moved Kelly Bates into the outside position for the first time this year,” said Sheffield.
The team also gave freshman M.E. Dodge her first start of the season at the libero position. Freshman Molly Haggerty also was moved to a new position for the first time in 2016.
Sheffield did not think the team played at its full ability in terms of tempo, accuracy and ball control. Overall, however, Sheffield believes the weekend was a success.
“There were some positive to certainly come out of that and some learning to take place while we’re breaking down film with the players,” said Sheffield.
The Badger’s injuries and shuffling of players didn’t end after the UNC game. Haggerty was shut down the next day versus Louisville, which led to senior Tori Blake playing on the right side for the first time this season.
“I was really happy with the way Tori came out and gave us a lift,” said Sheffield.
It appears that the coaching staff is struggling with all of the injuries going around, but it did not stop Sheffield from being optimistic and ready to continue the season.
“I’m really looking forward to this next week,” said Sheffield. “In terms of having one week of school under the player’s belts and to continue traveling and working on their game. It’s up to us as a coaching staff to try and help them get better, but also recover from the matches they’ve played.”
