Wisconsin
3 takeaways from Wisconsin volleyball’s spring win over Northern Illinois
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield shares his biggest spring takeaway
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield shared his biggest takeaway from the spring following the Badgers’ four-set win over Northern Illinois.
MADISON – Wisconsin volleyball got one last tune-up in the spring.
The Badgers, while showing some things that still need to be tuned up, ultimately won four sets against Northern Illinois, 25-18, 25-18, 25-13, 25-22, on April 24 at the UW Field House to conclude their spring schedule.
UW and Northern Illinois planned to play four sets regardless of the outcome of the first three sets (although they did not record stats for the fourth set).
The second and third sets had a combined 13 ties and six lead changes in the four sets as the Badgers faced a Northern Illinois team with only eight players (and no players taller than 6-foot-2). UW broke free in the third set with a 12-0 scoring run, but the fourth set was tied as late as 21-21.
Here are three takeaways from the Badgers’ win:
Eva Travis, Jaela Auguste again have starring roles (and highlight-worthy kills)
Eva Travis’ first spring after playing in the Big West ended with a big performance against Northern Illinois, recording 10 kills while hitting .643 as she started the first two sets and subbed in for the third set.
“Eva’s getting a lot better,” Sheffield said. “That’s not to say that she hasn’t had a great first freshman and sophomore year because she did. But where she’s been the last two weeks versus the first month here – she’s really settling in and becoming the player that we thought she was capable of being when we went after her in the portal.”
Fellow transfer Jaela Auguste also had 10 kills while hitting .769 and recording four blocks. Sheffield will especially remember one of those 10 kills – an authoritative blow off a one-handed set by Charlie Fuerbringer that excited the UW Field House crowd.
“That’s probably one of the top five highlights this building has even seen,” Sheffield said. “Unfortunately, we threw the next ball into the net when we were serving. But for that one fleeting moment, that was a pretty sweet play.”
Travis and Auguste’s starring roles were a similar story as six days earlier, when Travis had eight kills and Auguste had 10 against UW-Green Bay. Auguste also had six blocks in the road win.
Wisconsin’s depth on display against Huskies
While Auguste and Travis were at the top of UW’s box score, the Badgers also showcased the depth of their attack in the win over Northern Illinois.
Freshman outside hitters Audrey Flanagan and Halle Thompson each had seven kills. (Flanagan hit .455, and Thompson hit .353.) Sophomore middle blocker Natalie Wardlow had six kills while hitting .625.
Freshman middle blocker Lynney Tarnow’s stat line did not jump out as much – three kills while hitting .429 – but one of those was practically a bullet down the right side that landed right in front of the NIU back row.
Eight of the 10 non-libero UW players recorded at least two kills in the three sets that counted toward the official stats, and those eight players each hit above .350 in the process. The Badgers hit .525 as a whole.
That was all while the Badgers were once again without Grace Egan and Grace Lopez amid their continued injury recoveries. Neither player saw the floor in any of UW’s three spring matches.
“It’ll be a nice parlor game trying to figure out who’s going to play for this team,” Sheffield said. “Especially on the pins, there’s a lot of capable players, and we had some of them that didn’t even get in today.”
Wisconsin gets sloppy from service line
The Badgers certainly did not have their finest showing from the service line in their spring finale against Northern Illinois.
UW had 14 service errors while recording only three service aces in the three sets where the team kept official stats. Those 14 errors came from eight UW players, as Sheffield said jokingly that “everybody felt like it was their duty to miss two or three.”
“In three [sets]? You’re too kind not counting the fourth set,” Sheffield said. “It was sloppier than it’s been in previous matches. … Sometimes that can be a little bit contagious, like free-throw shooting.”
The 14 service errors against NIU were up from Wisconsin’s seven in the first three sets against UW-Green Bay and 11 in four sets against Marquette. Sheffield seems unlikely to lose too much sleep over the woes at the service line, though.
“I really think that’s going to end up being a strength of ours, so I’m not overly that concerned,” Sheffield said. “We’ve been really good behind the service line in the other matches that we played. We’ve been really good behind the service line in practices.”
After landing three-star edge rusher/defensive lineman Yahzeen Zion on Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers got another key commitment at the position on Sunday, as three-star Darin Graham committed to the program.
Graham, a native of Illinois, stands 6’5, 220 pounds, and hails from Mount Carmel, which is where the Badgers got running back Darrion Dupree from in the 2024 class.
The three-star edge rusher was a part of Wisconsin’s first group of official visitors last weekend, but left campus without announcing his commitment.
The two other top suitors here were Ole Miss, which was expected to get an official visit this weekend, and Purdue, but Graham elected to shut down his commitment this weekend and committed to the Badgers on Sunday.
He caps off quite the weekend for outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell, who now has a loaded room with Graham and Zion (if he sticks at edge) joining three-star in-state recruit Isaac Miller.
Wisconsin also had three-star Texas Tech edge rusher Brody Pfannenstiel on campus this weekend, being a top contender there as well. But, it’s unclear if the Badgers will take another edge rusher after their success this weekend.
Graham becomes commit No. 20 in the class for Wisconsin, and the Badgers still have more to come.
Luke Fickell just landed a massive 2027 commitment that should have Wisconsin stoked for. Yahzeen Zion, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman from Arizona, pledged to the Badgers, and the punch line isn’t just his size. It’s who Wisconsin beat to get him.
Zion’s offer list immediately separated this from a routine early-cycle win. He held offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State, Miami and USC, with Georgia interest floating around as well. Wisconsin has lived for decades on developing three-star linemen into NFL players, but that model gets harder when opponents stockpile blue-chip disruptors up front. Pulling a national-recruitment defensive lineman out of Arizona signaled Wisconsin’s recruiting footprint has expanded under Fickell in a real way.
On the field, Zion fits the modern profile Wisconsin has needed more of on the defensive front. He arrived at football as a converted basketball player, and that background showed up in the movement skills on his film. Zion shows versatility at multiple spots on the defensive line, winning both on the edge and inside with speed-to-power and an active motor that didn’t shut off snap to snap. Wisconsin has leaned on scheme and development to generate pressure, but Big Ten games usually swing when a defender can win one-on-one without help.
Zion projects as that kind of disruptor.
The bigger point for Wisconsin is what this kind of pledge can do inside a class. Recruiting builds on itself, and momentum is real right now for Wisconsin. Next up, watch whether Wisconsin can stack more out-of-state wins off Zion’s momentum and turn a splashy 2027 start into a true foundation class.
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LA CROSSE — Several athletes from Central Wisconsin left La Crosse as state champions, and several more snatched podium finishes after a dominant two days at the WIAA state track and field championships at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6.
From state champions to repeat champions, here is a look at every local track athlete who either won a state medal or notched a top-6 podium finish, separated each day and each of the three divisions.
Day 2, Saturday, June 6
Division 1:
Stevens Point’s Zachariah Zillman took home the silver medal in the long jump event and Salyssa Kellerman took sixth-place in the triple jump event. SPASH’s team of Tessa Bruckhart, Lorena Hill, Emersyn Wavrunek and Taylor Cejka notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the 4×800 meter relay race.
SPASH’s relay team of Seubert, Hill, Mueller and Wavrunek captured a gold medal in the 4×400 relay.
Wausau West’s Maci Heise took the silver medal in the 300-meter hurdles. Warriors teammate Cullin Quance took home the bronze medal in the long jump.
Marshfield’s team of Adeline Lonsdale, Hailey Klumb, Leann Ledtke and Natalie Scharenbroch took fifth place in the 4×800 relay.
Wausau East’s Mckaea Taylor took fourth place in the pole vault and teammate Elsa Oestreich was right behind, placing fifth.
Marshfield’s Derek Ongna took the silver medal in the boys high jump event.
Division 2:
Colby’s Daelyn Rieck won a gold medal in the discus throw.
Division 3:
Marathon’s Garrett Bracewell brought home a gold medal in the boys 300-meter hurdles and a silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles. Teammates Fred Tylinski, Luke Hoenish, Brady Annis and Bracewell also snagged a gold medal in the 4×200 race. Marathon’s Emma Schult took third place in the discus throw.
Marathon’s Chris Marcell broke the shot put meet record, snagging his second consecutive gold medal. While Berta Bota Palma added to Marathon’s dominance, snagging a sixth-place finish in the triple jump.
Pacelli’s Luke Eiden notched two podium finishes, taking home a bronze medal in the 1600-meter and a sixth place in the 3200-meter.
Assumption’s Michael Dolan brought home a gold medal in the boys 3200-meter and a silver medal in the 1,600-meter. Teammate Bella Thomas took home a gold medal in the 400-meter and a silver in the girls 100-meter and a fourth place finish in the 200-meter. Teammate Reed Hartjes notched a sixth-place finish in the boys 1600-meter.
The Royals relay team of Cullen Thomas, Aiden Daliege, Calen Ott and Trey France finished in fifth place in the 4×400 relay race.
Rosholt’s Alex Wierzba took home the gold medal in the boys 100-meter and a silver medal in the 200-meter while the Hornets team of Isabelle Trzebiatowski, Evelyn Bablitch, Kaitlyn Dombrowski and Liliana Losinski notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the 4×800. Teammate Evelyn Bablitch notched a sixth-place finish in the 3,200.
Stratford’s Zander Zawislan snagged the gold medal in the boys 200-meter and 400-meter aces while teammate Brianna Sherden notched a sixth-place finish in both the 100 and 200-meter races. Teammate Connor Kreft took home a bronze medal in the triple jump.
Nekoosa’s team of Austin Czappa, Darion Boswell, Finlei Krcmar and Jarrett Wilcox took the silver medal in the 4×100.
Athens Ava Ford finished fifth in the pole vault.
Spencer’s Breckin Miller finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.
Trevor Trowbridge of Auburndale notched a podium finish, taking sixth place in the 110-meter hurdles. Teammates Logan Nagel finished in fourth in the shot put while Gracie Hasenohrl took sixth in the pole vault. The Eagles team of Marti Anderson, Alivia Wolf, Rose Hasenohrl and Iris Galetto placed fifth in the 4×400.
Tomahawk’s Elise Gibeault claimed the bronze medal in the 400.
Adams-Friendship’s Molly Johnson took fourth place in the 400.
Edgar’s team of Mav Butt, Graham Streit, Landon Lukasko and Dawson Bornheimer took fourth place in the 4×100 relay race. Then Edgar’s team of Lukasko, Tucker Streit, Streit and Isaiah Kraft notched a silver medal in the 4×400.
Day 1, Friday, June 5
Division 1:
Xavier Edwards of D.C. Everest returned to state but this time walked away with a silver medal, taking second place in Division 1’s triple jump. His teammate, Ethan Whitmore finished tied with Wisconsin Lutheran’s John Gehl for sixth place in the boys pole vault.
Stevens Point relay team of Dash Kvatek, John Jazdzewski, Ben Hopp and Cooper Erickson snatched fourth place in the boys 4×800. On the girls side for SPASH, Lorena Hill, Alivia Koback, Riley Mueller and Jada Seubert placed fifth in the first round of the 4×200. While the team of Hill, Seubert, Mueller and Wavrunek placed first in the first round of the 4×400.
Wausau East’s Parker Schmitt finished in third place in the first round of the boys 400-meter.
Crosstown-rival Wausau West’s Heise walked away with second place in the first round of the Division 1 girls 300 hurdles.
Division 2:
Colby’s Rieck finished first in the first round of the Division 3 shot put.
Division 3
Marathons’ Marcell went back-to-back taking gold in the shot put event. Teammates Bracewell took first place in the first round of Division 3’s boys 110 meter hurdles. Teammates, Tylinski, Hoenish, Annis and Bracewell finished second place in the second round of the boys 4 xv200 Division 3 race.
Spencer’s Breckin Miller took a gold medal in the pole vault and sixth place in the 110 meter hurdles
Athens’ Sy’Rih Hartwig brought home a gold medal in the shot put.
Edgars 4×800 relay team of Dillon Sondeleski, Emitt VanOrnum, Dom Contreras and Kraft took home a silver medal in Division 3’s race with Marathon’s team of Etan Huesbsch, Logan Peters, John Kahon and Annis finishing in fourth place. Kraft earned a bronze medal in the 800-meter race.
Assumption’s Lucy Dolan took home a silver medal in Division 3’s 1600 meter.
Thomas of Assumption finished first in the first round of the 400-meter race and third place in the first round of the girls Division 3 100-meter race. Teammate Lucy Dolan snagged a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter race.
Auburndale’s Trowbridge finished fourth in the first round of the boys 110-meter hurdles.
Abbotsford’s Carter Cihlar notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the pole vault.
Wierzba of Rosholt finished in second place in the boys 100-meter race.
Stratford’s team of Wynn Schoenherr, Brye Shaw, Samantha Frick and Sherden finished in fifth place in the first round of the girls 4×200. Then the Tiger group of Carter Foster, Austin Niehaus, Mason Miller, Austin Foster took sixth place in the first round of the boys 4×100. Teammate Zawislan took second place in the first round of the boys 400-meter. Sherden also finished sixth in the first round of the girls 100-meter dash.
Nekoosa’s Czappa, Boswell, Krcmar, and Wilcox took fourth place in the first round of the 4×100.
Adams-Friendship’s Molly Johnson took third place in the Division 3 girls 400-meter race, followed by Gibeault of Tomahawk in fourth.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
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