Wisconsin
Wisconsin falls for third time this year to Nebraska, sees season come to an end
For a third time this year, Nebraska got the better of the Wisconsin volleyball team.
And this one ended the season for the Badgers.
Playing on their home court, the Huskers advanced to the Final Four with a straight-set victory over Wisconsin Sunday. Scores were 26-24, 25-17 and 25-21.
Final from Lincoln pic.twitter.com/UlUbOYuQB0
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) December 15, 2024
The match marked the end of the career for Badger seniors Sarah Franklin, Devyn Robinson, Anna Smrek, Julia Orzol, CC Crawford and Carly Anderson. The group helped the Badgers reach consecutive Sweet 16s while going 26-7 this past season including a 17-3 mark in the Big Ten Conference.
Two of those three league losses came at the hands of Nebraska, who did not drop a set in the series through three matches.
Franklin had 12 kills to lead the Badgers, who hit just .126 as a team with 38 kills and 22 errors.
“So proud of our efforts,” Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I thought we stayed in a fight all the way to the end there. There’s a reason why these guys haven’t lost a tournament match at home in a long time. You’re gonna get their best effort and that’s certainly part of our team and the effort that they gave.”
Charlie Fuerbringer had 32 assists and nine digs with Frankln and Orzol each recording nine digs.
Put it where they ain’t 💁♀️
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/2hlb39Jgkz
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) December 15, 2024
“I’m just super proud of our fight throughout the whole season,” Fuerbringer said. “I think we improved so much more than a lot of other teams, and I’m just so grateful to be surrounded by these girls. They’re amazing and the worst part about losing is not being able to play with them next year for sure.”
This marked the 14th consecutive season that Wisconsin has won at least 20 matches, as they also moved the school’s career NCAA Tournament mark to 67-27. Franklin was named to the Lincoln all-regional team.
Wisconsin
‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair
When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.
In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.
Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.
For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.
The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.
Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes:
- Aug. 6: Sixteen Candles
- Aug. 7 and 8: Here Come The Mummies
- Aug. 10 and 11: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
- Aug. 12: Hairbangers Ball
- Aug. 13: Too Hype Crew
- Aug. 14: The Gufs
- Aug. 15: Let’s Sing Taylor – An Unofficial Live Tribute Show
- Aug. 16: Pat McCurdy
All Bank Five Nine Amphitheater concerts are included with fair admission.
The lineup is also nearly complete for the Bank Five Nine Main Stage, with just a show on Aug. 11 to be announced.
Tickets are on sale for these shows at wistatefair.com and include same-day fair admission:
- Aug. 6: Hairball
- Aug. 7: Nelly
- Aug. 8: Bailey Zimmerman with Chandler Walters
- Aug. 9: Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge
- Aug. 10: For King + Country with Rachel Lampa
- Aug. 12: John Mulaney
- Aug. 13: The All-American Rejects with Joyce Manor
- Aug. 14: Lindsey Stirling with PVRIS
- Aug. 15: AJR with Em Beihold
- Aug. 16: The Beach Boys
Wisconsin
Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW/GRAY NEWS) – A ransomware group has claimed to have breached the learning management system Canvas, possibly exposing the personal information of students, teachers and staff across the country.
According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin website, they were notified of a nationwide security breach experienced by Instructure, the provider of Canvas. Universities of Wisconsin schools use the cloud-based management system.
UW-Stevens Point tells NewsChannel 7 they have not confirmed UWSP was involved in the breach, but did send communication that Canvas was down and students should not perform any asked actions if prompted, as it may not be legitimate while Canvas is down.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, posted on May 1 about a cybersecurity incident that had been reported and was under investigation.
The next day, Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud wrote that the information involved in the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses.
“At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he wrote.
The Wausau School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday regarding the cybersecurity incident. They said there is no evidence that passwords, single-sign-on credentials, financial information or social security numbers were impacted. They stressed that type of information is not stored in Canvas.
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Wisconsin
Kickoff time announced for Wisconsin-Notre Dame at Lambeau Field
(WLUK) — The Wisconsin-Notre Dame game at Lambeau Field will be under the lights.
Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6.
The matchup, originally scheduled for Oct. 3, 2020, was rescheduled for 2026 after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the 2020 football season.
The Badgers took on the Fighting Irish at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2021 as part of the Shamrock Series, the neutral-site non-conference series between the two programs. Notre Dame claimed the first game of the series 41-13.
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Wisconsin last played at Lambeau Field in 2016 and scored a 16-14 win over No. 5 LSU.
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