Wisconsin

Maryland women’s volleyball toppled by No. 9 Wisconsin in straight sets

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2024

Maryland women’s volleyball toppled by No. 9 Wisconsin in straight sets

Trailing 4-2 in the opening set, defensive specialist Ally Williams went behind the service line looking to spark a Maryland comeback against No. 9 Wisconsin and get the eighth-best serving team in the nation going.

Instead, Williams recorded the first of four service errors for the Terps in the set, establishing the tone of the match. Serving struggles were evident early on, as Maryland failed to record a service ace in the opening set for the first time all season. The Terps fell to the Badgers in straight sets.

“This is one of the better passing teams in the Big Ten, and we knew that would be one of the challenges,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “When you go strength on strength, you always wonder who is going to win the battle. I think it’s a bit tougher to serve when you’re on the road and not as comfortable.”

Wisconsin middle blocker Anna Smrek recorded back-to-back kills to get her team out to a quick 2-0 lead they never relinquished. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta, the Terps’ leader in kills with 196, tallied a kill to put Maryland on the board. However, another kill from Smrek and middle blocker CC Crawford extended the Badgers lead to 7-2.

Middle blocker Anastasia Russ and outside hitter Sam Csire cut the Wisconsin lead to one. But two service aces from Badgers freshman sensation Charlie Fuerbringer and two team blocks sparked a Wisconsin run, moving the score to 14-8.

Outside hitter Sydney Bryant tried to give Maryland some momentum with a kill, but the Badgers responded just like they had done all set. Middle blocker Eva Rohrbach and setter Sydney Dowler each tallied a kill late in the set, but that wasn’t enough. Wisconsin closed out the set, 25-15.

The second set shaped up just like the previous one, as Maryland fell behind early, 4-2. Dowler knotted the score at six apiece as she recorded the Terps’ first service ace of the match. But outside hitter Sarah Franklin, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Year, recorded back-to-back kills, giving Wisconsin the lead back.

Russ stopped the bleeding and a potential Wisconsin run with a kill, but two more kills from Franklin pushed the score to 10-8. A kill from Schnitta cut the Maryland deficit to one. That was the closest the Terps ever got as Wisconsin went on a massive run.

With Badgers libero Lola Schumacher behind the service line, Wisconsin rattled off eight consecutive points, including four more team-blocks and service ace from Schumacher. It closed out the second-set victory, 25-11, with its ninth block of the set.

Csire recorded the opening point of the third set with a kill. However, this was short-lived, as Franklin responded with a kill and service ace. Schumacher got behind the line and sparked another Badgers’ run, helped by back-to-back kills from Crawford.

Down 8-2, Schnitta hoped to give the Terps some life with another kill, but she had an attack error in the next point. Service aces from outside hitter Julia Orzol and Crawford extended the Wisconsin lead to eight. A kill from Csire and service ace Rohrbach stopped the Badgers’ run at three.

Franklin recorded Wisconsin’s 11th service ace of the match, moving the score to 17-9. Maryland battled late in the set, hoping to muster up a comeback, but three more kills from Franklin shut the door, as the Terps fell 25-15.

“The big message we talked about at the end is in the third set, we were definitely more competitive,” Hughes said. “They had some point runs that were pretty big where it kind of puts it away immediately. I was proud we didn’t surrender there and kept battling against a good team.”

Three things to know

1. Service woes. Maryland recorded just three service aces in the match, its lowest mark. Coming off an impressive 10 aces in the last match, the Terps were unable to find any sort of serving momentum. Seven service errors also led to Maryland’s struggle.

2. First straight-sets loss of the season. In every match so far this season, the Terps pulled off at least one set, even against No. 3 Penn State. However, Maryland was never within striking distance in any of the sets to position itself to earn a set victory.

3. Terps were out-blocked 13-1. Up against a very physical team, Maryland was dominated at the net. In a department that the Terps found some success early on in the season, the recent blocking struggles continued. Maryland had a hitting percentage of just 4.3%.

“They have a balanced offense and it’s hard to get anyone set up in good places,” Hughes said. “On the other side, we were out of system a fair amount, and that puts their physicality on full display. We had to find this balance of staying aggressive.”

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin bill stirs issue of parental voice, trans youth autonomy

Published

5 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin bill stirs issue of parental voice, trans youth autonomy

A Republican-authored bill would require Wisconsin school boards to adopt a policy that would inform a parent or guardian if a student requests to be called by names and pronouns not aligned with their gender assigned at birth.

The bill would require legal documentation, parental approval and a principal to approve changes to a student’s name and pronouns. The bill makes exceptions for nicknames or students going by their middle names.

Although the bill has no chance of being signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, it reflects the continuing political energy of two issues: parental authority in schools, and the treatment of trans youths.

Notably, hundreds of trans-related bills were introduced at multiple levels of government across the country in the last year.

The lawmakers who introduced the bill, Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and state Sen. Andre Jacque (R-Franken), said it is about parental rights and transparency. At a Capitol public hearing Jan. 6, Jacque cited a ruling from October 2023 in which a Waukesha judge sided with parents who sued the Kettle Moraine School District after staff at the middle school used a child’s chosen name and pronouns. The parents did not support their child’s transition.

But the Senate Committee on Education hearing grew heated as LGBTQ+ youth, parents of transgender children, Democratic lawmakers and other advocates called the bill unnecessary and potentially violence-inducing. They said it makes life worse for a vulnerable population that makes up less than 1% of Wisconsin pupils.

Jacque argued that without the bill, educators can make decisions about children’s health and well-being in secrecy.

“Hiding from us important things that are going on in their lives is not only disrespectful to parents, it is harmful to our children and deliberately sabotaging the ability for vital communication to take place,” Jacque said.

Sen. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) questioned why the Legislature should be involved when school boards already have the ability to approve such policies.

“I think it’s interesting how much you lean on local control for certain things, but then all of a sudden, you want government control,” she said.

Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, said such a bill would prevent educators from “engaging in the best practice” for using names and pronouns. Swetz, a former middle school teacher who advised a Gender and Sexuality Alliance club, said she’s seen firsthand the positive impact of affirming trans and nonbinary students.

“The mental health struggles that trans youth face are not a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’re entirely pressured outcomes, and bills like SB120 add to that pressure,” Swetz said.

Jenna Gormal, the public policy director at End Abuse Wisconsin, said forcing students to come out to parents before they’re ready reinforces power and control while stripping students of their autonomy.

Alison Selje, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke of the seismic shift in their well-being and academic performance when someone used their correct pronouns. Selje was a student at Madison West High School at the time. The Madison Metropolitan School District has a policy – which has survived a court challenge – protecting the use of names and pronouns of trans students.

“I remember the first time I heard someone use the right pronoun for me. This was during the pandemic so I was still wearing a mask, but underneath it, I was smiling ear to ear,” Selje said. “The use of my pronouns was a confidence boost, but it was also a lifesaver.”

Support for the bill came from two women representing Moms for Liberty. Laura Ackman and Amber Infusimo shared stories of parents finding out about their children’s new gender identity through school playbills and yearbooks.

“This bill rightly affirms schools shouldn’t be making significant decisions without parental knowledge or involvement,” Ackman said. “It does not prevent kindness, respect or compassion.”

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Wisconsin

3 takeaways as Wisconsin Badgers ‘showed some fight’ in win over UCLA

Published

17 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

3 takeaways as Wisconsin Badgers ‘showed some fight’ in win over UCLA

The Wisconsin Badgers defeated UCLA 80-72, with a balanced scoring attack. Nick Boyd led the team with 20 points.
Wisconsin showed improvement with its 3-point shooting and halfcourt defense against the Bruins.
The game concluded with a flagrant foul on Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter and offsetting technical fouls.

MADISON – Wisconsin men’s basketball got the palette-cleanser it needed.

After losing to its last three high-major opponents by double-digit margins, the Badgers enjoyed a double-digit lead for almost the entire game en route to an 80-72 win over UCLA on Jan. 6 at the Kohl Center.

“The thing I like about tonight is we showed some fight and some togetherness and some heart,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the game. “And it wasn’t perfect, but when you have heart and you have fight, you always have a chance. … We were physically and emotionally engaged and after it.”

BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 80, UCLA 72

Wisconsin boasted a balanced scoring attack. Nick Boyd had a team-high 20 points, followed closely by Nolan Winter with 18 and John Blackwell with 17. Andrew Rohde also had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

UCLA, meanwhile, relied on 18 points from Eric Dailey Jr. and 16 points from Tyler Bilodeau while the Bruins were playing without standout guard Skyy Clark.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Badgers benefit from far superior 3-point shooting

One of the many what-ifs from Wisconsin’s 16-point loss to then-No. 6 Purdue was its 3-point shooting. UW went a mere 4 of 25 against the Boilermakers, marking its second consecutive game with sub-20% perimeter shooting.

The Badgers’ Jan. 6 win over UCLA was a much different story, as they made more 3-pointers in the first nine minutes against the Bruins than they did in all 40 minutes against Purdue.

UW finished the game with 33% shooting, going 10 of 30. But the perimeter shooting was more of a difference-maker than one might surmise from glancing through the final box score.

The early 3-pointers helped the Badgers claim 16-4, 28-9 and 38-19 leads throughout the first half – a sizeable enough cushion to withstand UCLA’s 14-4 run in the second half without the outcome ever seeming in serious jeopardy.

“When you see your teammates shoot with confidence and you see see them go in a few times, then it’s contagious,” Blackwell said. “It rubs off on others to make other shots and just be aggressive.”

Gard similarly said the improved 3-point shooting “creates energy.”

“As much as you try to say, ‘Don’t get emotionally attached to your shot going in or not,’ I thought we got good looks,” Gard said. “We knocked them down. We took the right ones. And that energizes both ends of the floor.”

Meanwhile, UCLA – ranking 16th in the NCAA in 3-point shooting at 38.6% ahead of the Jan. 6 game – had uncharacteristically lackluster shooting from deep, missing its first 14 3-point attempts and ultimately going 1 of 17. The Bruins’ lack of Clark – a 49.3% 3-point shooter – surely played a factor in that.

Wisconsin shows improvements, imperfections in halfcourt defense

As much as Wisconsin’s improved 3-point shooting captured the spotlight, the Badgers’ improved halfcourt defense also was instrumental in the Badgers enjoying a double-digit lead for much of the game.

“We were connected,” Gard said. “We were energetic. We were physical. We were covering for each other. We had each other’s back.”

UCLA averaged .969 points per possession in the first half, and the Bruins did not score outside of fastbreak opportunities until the 13:23 mark in the half.

UCLA was better in the second half, but even then, its 1.029 points per possession over the course of the entire game was the fewest allowed by UW to a high-major since holding Marquette to exactly one point per possession on Dec. 6.

“Our communication was really high-level,” Winter said. “These last two days of practice probably have been some of our best practices all year from a communication standpoint and a defensive standpoint.”

That’s not to say Wisconsin’s defense was perfect against the Bruins, however. UCLA made six straight shots at one point in the second half, and Gard picked out a few other issues with UW’s halfcourt defense.

“We had a couple ball-screen mistakes – one we hedged way too far, one we didn’t hedge at all,” Gard said. “Other than that, I thought we were pretty solid, and a lot of good things to build upon. We’ll have to continue to get better on that end of the floor.”

What happened with Nolan Winter’s flagrant foul, Nick Boyd’s technical foul

The Wisconsin-UCLA game ended with some drama as the officiating crew handed out a Flagrant 1 and offsetting technical fouls.

Winter received the flagrant foul after a somewhat of a hard foul on Eric Dailey Jr. as the UCLA forward attempted a layup.

“Yeah, it was a hard foul,” Winter said of his flagrant. “I didn’t really mean to get a flagrant, obviously, but I didn’t want to give him any free points, especially at the end of the game. … We played to the whistle.”

Gard pointed out that UCLA was “pressing us until the very end,” too.

After Winter’s foul, Dailey appeared to give Winter a light shove. Boyd and others ran to Winter’s defense, and Boyd made contact with Dailey. Boyd and Dailey received offsetting deadball technical fouls after replay review.

Boyd saw Dailey “push my guy,” he said after the game.

“Over these last couple weeks, man, we’ve just been getting pushed around too much,” Boyd said. “So I just had to have his back. That’s the mentality we’re carrying with us the rest of the year. We get pushed. We’re stepping right back up.”

UCLA coach Mick Cronin, unlike many of his peers this season, did not hold a postgame press conference at the Kohl Center. So Gard was the only coach in a position to share his thoughts on what transpired.

Gard’s thoughts were shaped by other officiating decisions that he did not want to specifically identify.

“I’m not going to get into refereeing, and those guys got a really hard job,” Gard said. “But there was some actions on the other end that if they get them under control, then that never happens because the play would have been whistled dead. … I’ll deal with that with the league in terms of we should have never gotten to that based on some other stuff.”

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Wisconsin

Blake Cherry commits to Wisconsin, reunites with OL coach Eric Mateos

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Blake Cherry commits to Wisconsin, reunites with OL coach Eric Mateos

MADISON – When it comes to grabbing offensive linemen in the transfer portal, Wisconsin is going with what it knows.

Blake Cherry is the latest example.

The rising sophomore guard, who announced his commitment to the Badgers on Tuesday, Jan. 6, played for new UW offensive line coach Eric Mateos at Arkansas.

Cherry announced his commitment on X. He joins former Oklahoma State center Austin Kawecki, who was recruited by Mateos when Mateos was at Baylor, as the first two offensive line pickups for Wisconsin during this portal cycle.

Cherry, who was listed as 6-foot-5 and 316 pounds, played in 11 games at Arkansas in 2025 with the bulk of the work coming on special teams. He was the top backup to second team all-SEC selection Fernando Carmona.

Cherry was a three-star prospect coming out of Owasso High School in Oklahoma. He joins an offensive line room that underperformed in 2025 but featured some promising young players like tackle Emerson Mandell and guard Colin Cubberly, who will be a redshirt sophomore next season.

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