Wisconsin
Wisconsin volleyball draws Fairfield for NCAA Tournament, rematch with Nebraska could be in offing
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 – When Wisconsin’s spot in the NCAA volleyball tournament bracket was revealed Sunday evening, Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield’s attention turned to first-round opponent Fairfield.
Fans of the sport, however, had the luxury of looking ahead to another showdown against the team at the bottom of the UW’s portion of the bracket.
Nebraska earned the overall No. 3 seed for the tournament. If it and the Badgers get to the regional final, the two rivals would square off for a berth in the Final Four.
However, getting to that point in the postseason isn’t Sheffield’s focus right now.
“You’ve got to be really good at taking it one week at a time, one little mini tournament at a time,” said Sheffield, whose team was swept twice by the Cornhuskers this season. “We’ll have four teams and we’re going to try to win that mini tournament of four and then look ahead to see who’s there.
“One thing that I’ve learned over the years is that if you get ahead of yourself it’s doesn’t put yourself in a position to last too long.”
Badgers will host first weekend of matches
Wisconsin is the overall No. 7 seed for the tournament. This marks the 12th straight season Wisconsin has qualified for the tournament and the fourth straight year it will host the opening weekend of matches.
Georgia Tech (20-9) and Tennessee (15-11) are also coming to the Field House. They are scheduled to play at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The UW-Fairfield match will follow with an approximate starting time of 7 p.m.
The winners of Thursday’s matches will meet at 7 p.m. Friday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. Barring an upset of Nebraska, the regional semifinal and final for that portion of the bracket will be hosted by the Cornhuskers.
The Final Four is at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
First things, however, first.
Fairfield (21-11) won the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title and then clinched a spot in the tournament with victories over Canisius and Quinnipiac in the conference tournament.
“I haven’t played them. I haven’t played anybody in their league, but that is the cool parts of the NCAA Tournament,” Sheffield said. “For months we’ve played teams that we play year after year after year and you get to the NCAA Tournament and most likely, especially that first round, it’s not only schools you haven’t played in most cases it may be from conference where you haven’t played anybody. It’s the magic of the tournament.”
Big Ten Conference is well represented
Nine Big Ten teams made the 64-team field, which ties the ACC and SEC as the conference with the most teams in the field. The Big Ten is the only league with two No. 1 seeds: Penn State, the overall No. 2 seed, and Nebraska, the No. 3.
“I’m not sure I saw any surprise there,” Sheffield said. “I think it shows once again how deep and competitive the conference is. Half of the top four seeds and quite a few of the overall 16 seeds. It’s what we face every weekend.”
Wisconsin finished the regular season with a 23-6 record and finished third in the Big Ten with a 17-3 mark.
The Badgers closed the regular season with a five-set win over Ohio State on Wednesday and a four-set victory over Michigan State on Saturday. Both matches lasted longer than 2 ½ hours.
Freshman libero Lola Schumacher, who missed three matches due to apparent concussion, returned as a defensive specialist for the last two matches. Junior defensive specialist Gulce Guctekin remains sidelined.
“It feels like we’re knocking on the door of putting things together,” Sheffield said. “We’ve played some really good volleyball. There is a lot of experience on this team and they’ve played a lot of NCAA Tournament matches.
“I know they’re excited to get going. You play the entire regular season to prepare yourself for the NCAA Tournament and this is probably the deepest I’ve ever seen the Tournament. The number of teams I could see getting into a regional final or Final Four is probably the most I can ever remember.”
Wisconsin
UPDATE: Wisconsin woman breaks record, swims entirety of Lake Winnebago
MENASHA, Wis. (WFRV) — History was made today, as Melodee Liegel successfully completed her nearly 17-hour swim just before 9:00 p.m. on July 7.
The swim, which started at the Fond du Lac Lighthouse and ended in Menasha, was just under 28 whole miles in length. Liegel began her swim at 4:00 in the morning, treading water only occasionally for snack and rest breaks.
Liegel, a resident of Delafield, Wisconsin, is the first person in history to complete the swim, which covered the entirety of Lake Winnebago.
Local fishing guide Troy Peterson was riding alongside Melodee as she completed her swim. His Facebook has more information, as does their website tracking her swim.
WFRV will update this story as necessary.
Wisconsin
Northeast Wisconsin says goodbye as Savannah Wood leaves FOX 11 for a new chapter
GREEN BAY (WLUK) — It was a bittersweet sign off on Good Day Wisconsin Tuesday.
It was morning anchor and field reporter, Savannah Wood’s last day at FOX 11.
The Good Day Wisconsin crew says goodbye to Savannah Wood on her last day at FOX 11, July 7, 2026. (WLUK)
She thanked the station and the Northeast Wisconsin community for embracing her over the past two years.
You’ve all watched many of my early morning field trips across Northeast Wisconsin over the last couple of years, many, too many to count, and I’ve had the privilege of getting to experience so much of what makes this community truly what it is and meet amazing people along the way,” Savannah said.
Savannah will be staying in news but going back to her home state of Pennsylvania to be closer to family.
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Goodbye and good luck Savannah!
Wisconsin
Wisconsin DOT begins $6.87M I-41 ramp deck overlay upgrades in Brown County Tuesday
GREEN BAY (WLUK) — Delays and disruptions will be coming to your daily commute.
A project involving I-41 flyover ramps in Brown County starts Tuesday, where a total of six flyover ramps will see closures.
The good news is, they won’t all be closed at the same time.
Delays and disruptions will be coming to your daily commute. A project involving I-41 flyover ramps in Brown County starts Tuesday, where a total of six flyover ramps will see closures. July 6, 2026 (WLUK/Tony Langfellow).
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation said this project is necessary to help preserve the roads.
It’s been more than 10 years since the I-41 corridor was completed.
Now with the creation of some new technology, six I-41 flyover ramps in Brown County and one in Winnebago County are getting an upgrade.
This includes the I-41/I-43 interchange and the I-41/WIS 29 interchange.
“The project will be milling off the existing deck overlay and then be doing any necessary deck repairs. And then we’ll be putting on this new overlay, which is a more robust weather resistant overlay that will protect the bridge decks here,” Wisconsin DOT Project Manager Josh Lang said.
The new overlay is called “Polyester Polymer Concrete.”
But what exactly is that? When you’re driving on the ramps, you may notice patchy black and white spots on the road — that’s what the DOT is fixing, with a new specialized type of concrete.
Lang said the new overlay is key for high traffic areas.
“The main purpose of this material is to protect the bridge decks. That’s what our structures see the most wear and tear, but it does have those added benefits. The traction benefits the durability and such there,” Lang said.
The $6.87 million project is being funded through a mixture of state and federal funding.
Lang said the project is happening now because this new overlay technology didn’t exist until after the original highway project was complete.
There are no other issues with the flyover ramps, according to Lang.
Most of the closures will be quick, but will cause delays and detours.
Lang called this project an important step in preserving the roads for years to come.
“It’s really exciting. It’s really a great application of this material and I’m excited to see how this performs to keep our infrastructure, everything that was built with this 41 expansion in great shape,” Lang said.
The first ramp closure starts Tuesday with I-41 south to 29 west.
Lang said that work will last about a week.
The DOT expects all of the Brown County improvements to be done by September.
The Winnebago County project will begin in 2027.
I-41/I-43 interchange, Brown County:
- Northbound I-41 to southbound I-43 southbound (over Velp Avenue)
- Northbound I-43 to southbound I-41 (over I-41)
- Northbound I-43 to northbound I-41
I-41/WIS 32/WIS 29 interchange, Brown County:
- Southbound I-41 to westbound WIS 29 (over WIS 29)
- Eastbound WIS 29 to northbound I-41 (over I-41/WIS 29)
- Northbound I-41 to westbound WIS 29 (over I-41)
Winnebago County:
- Northbound I-41 to northbound US 45 (over I-41)
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