Wisconsin
Wisconsin volleyball blocks distractions, Michigan State to score Senior Night win
Wisconsin volleyball unveils Final Four banner inside UW Field House
The Badgers unveiled the banner from their 2023 Final Four appearance before their exhibition match against Bradley on Aug. 20.
MADISON – The Wisconsin volleyball team was doubly good at blocking Saturday night.
The Badgers not only ignored the distraction of the impending NCAA Tournament, but they also rejected Michigan State’s upset bid with one of their best blocking matches of the season.
UW finished with 17 blocks in the 25-19, 26-28, 25-19, 25-18 win, its second-best match of the season in that statistical category. Twelve of those blocks came during the final two sets when Wisconsin held the Spartans to their lowest hitting percentages of the match.
The victory allowed seventh-ranked Wisconsin to finish the regular season with a 23-6 record and Big Ten with a mark of 17-3, which placed them in third place two games behind Big Ten co-champions Nebraska and Penn State.
The win also sent the team’s six seniors out on a high note – the program honored each of them after the match.
Up next is the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be revealed at 5 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
“This is the time of year where dreams come true and we’re certainly looking forward to trying to climb that moutain,” UW coach Kelly Sheffield said.
Senior outside hitters Sarah Franklin and Julia Orzol finished the night 1-2 in kills with 23 and 13, respectively. Franklin posted with a .316 hitting percentage and a season-high five blocks. Orzol hit .290 and with 10 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season.
Freshman setter Charlie Fuebringer (46 assists, 12 digs) posted her ninth double-double of the season.
She also tied a career high for six blocks, all of which she recorded during the final two sets.
The Badgers made an adjustment to their block during the match
“We were making a lot of errors when we went high and tried to overpower them,” said senior Devyn Robinson, who has five blocks. “ I feel like getting low and staying steady is something we focused on it paid off in the end.”
“Also not getting jumpy (was key),” added senior right-side hitter Anna Smrek, who posted four blocks.. “Just being patient, trusting our eyes and then making a really explosive, dynamic move.”
Junior middle blocker Carter Booth led Wisconsin with nine blocks, her second-highest match total of the season. Six came during the final two sets when Wisconsin held Michigan State to hitting percentages of .023 and .107.
The match capped a week that also included a five-set win over Ohio State that lasted 2 hours 43 minutes. The match Saturday went 2 hours 31 minutes.
Next UW will turn its attention to its first-round NCAA Tournament match that is expected to be played at the Field House.
“It’s just resetting after each point,” Orzol said of her focus. “It was mentioned before the game. Reset. That is when we’re playing our best volleyball, when we are like goldfish without no memory., not even short memory. It’s always, always forward.”
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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