David Gwidt - The Daily Cardinal

Cameron Lane-Flehinger, Cameron Lane-Flehinger

VOLLEYBALL

Déjà vu in December: Wisconsin falls to Stanford in Sweet 16, eliminated from NCAA tournament

By David Gwidt | Dec. 9, 2017

Although they transpired under decidedly different circumstances, the story behind each of Wisconsin’s last two trips to the NCAA tournament feature exactly the same ending. A year after suffering a tragic defeat to Stanford in the 2016 elite eight match, the Badgers (11-9 Big Ten, 22-10 overall) once again watched their championship hopes collapse at the hands of the Cardinals (19-1 Pac 12, 29-3), losing by a score of 25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 19-25 in the Sweet 16 Friday night in California. UW’s loss was underscored by its inability to slow down Stanford’s electric offense, a unit which hit an astronomical .436 on the night.

Kelli Bates and the Badgers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after two postseason road sweeps.

Brandon Moe

VOLLEYBALL

Road warriors: Wisconsin embracing underdog mentality in preparation for NCAA tournament match with Marquette

By David Gwidt | Nov. 30, 2017

After advancing to the postseason 13 times over the course of his career, Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield has become quite adept at preparing his team to play in December.

Despite recent woes, Lauryn Gillis still feels confident that Wisconsin can close out the season on a strong note and make a run at the NCAA title.

Brandon Moe, Brandon Moe

VOLLEYBALL

Wrapping up its road season, Wisconsin looks to rebound in Illinois

By David Gwidt | Nov. 17, 2017

In what has been a largely up and down 2017 campaign, No. 13 Wisconsin hit perhaps its lowest point of the season this past weekend. On the road in West Lafayette, the No. 13 Badgers (8-8 Big Ten, 17-8 overall) fell to the Purdue Boilermakers in straight sets last Saturday, suffering their first sweep since 2016.

Dana Rettke has been huge for Wisconsin throughout this year, leading the team on and off the court.

Brandon Moe

VOLLEYBALL

Fresh aces: Hilley, Rettke paving path for prosperous future

By David Gwidt | Nov. 9, 2017

When setter Sydney Hilley and middle blocker Dana Rettke were first brought together for a campus visit in 2014, they didn’t interact much with each other.

Brandon Moe

VOLLEYBALL

Wisconsin falls in five-set heartbreaker to Ohio State

By David Gwidt | Nov. 4, 2017

In what has come to encapsulate a troubling yet all too familiar theme of the 2017 volleyball season, a match that No. 8 Wisconsin looked firmly in control of completely unraveled after intermission, as a possible home sweep for the Badgers ended in a disastrous 25-14, 25-16, 21-25, 23-25,13-15 loss to conference rival Ohio State Friday night at the Field House. Like many contests that have yielded similar outcomes this year, UW (6-7 Big Ten, 13-7 overall) coasted through the first two sets of play, strolling into the lockeroom holding a 2-0 lead heading into the break. But once the players returned to the court for the third and potentially final frame, their previous good fortune went entirely awry, as the Badgers fell into a funk they could never find a way out of.

Niamh Rahman, Niamh Rahman

VOLLEYBALL

Badgers look to respond from early conference woes as OSU, Maryland come to Madison this weekend

By David Gwidt | Nov. 2, 2017

Over halfway through the season, it is safe to say that the Big Ten schedule has not done the 2017 Wisconsin Badgers any favors. After amassing an immaculate 9-0 record in the non-conference slate, No. 8 Wisconsin (6-6 Big Ten, 15-6 overall) has come back down to earth since the Big Ten season began, splitting its first 12 conference contests evenly.

Brandon Moe

VOLLEYBALL

Seniors find redemption as Wisconsin routs Northwestern in straight sets

By David Gwidt | Oct. 29, 2017

Following the loss to top-ranked Penn State on the road this past Wednesday, Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield spoke very candidly about his disappointment with the play of the Badgers’ starting outside hitters, publicly criticizing the lack of production he saw from seniors Kelli Bates and Lauryn Gillis. But the two veteran attackers took the scrutiny in stride and responded to their coach’s call to action with a much-improved performance Saturday night against Northwestern.

Kelli Bates knows that the Badgers can't look past Maryland, despite the big matchup with Minnesota this weekend.

Alayna Truttmann, Alayna Truttmann

VOLLEYBALL

Halfway through Big Ten conference play, Wisconsin now has confidence to redeem loss to Minnesota

By David Gwidt | Oct. 17, 2017

Wisconsin senior outside hitter Kelli Bates was unabashedly clear about what a win over rival Minnesota would mean to her.

Alayna Truttmann, Alayna Truttmann

VOLLEYBALL

?Wisconsin snaps losing streak, knocks off No. 5 Nebraska en route to signature win

By David Gwidt | Oct. 12, 2017

Successfully closing out opponents has proven to be quite the challenge for the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers as of late.

Senior middle blocker Tionna Williams hit .636 percent with seven kills as the Badgers swept the Green Bay Phoenix to advanced to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.

Brandon Moe

VOLLEYBALL

Scuffling in Big Ten, Wisconsin falls to Michigan State, drops third straight match

By David Gwidt | Oct. 8, 2017

In Big Ten volleyball, nothing ever comes easy. Each team in the conference must overcome their fair share of obstacles, fighting to survive a brutal schedule which proves immensely challenging for even the nation’s most talented teams. And for the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers (2-4 Big Ten, 11-4 overall), the arduous nature of life in the Big Ten has certainly taken its toll.