Wisconsin
Wisconsin volleyball relies on offensive balance, big block to make quick work of Troy
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 – Tuesday was Sarah Franklin’s night. Friday night balance ruled the day for the Wisconsin volleyball team.
Five players recorded double-digit attacks in a sweep of Troy that was played in front of an announced crowd of 7,229 at the UW Field House. That balance fueled a season-high hitting percentage of .416 for the seventh-ranked Badgers, who won 25-18, 25-13, 25-14 to score their fifth straight match and raise their record to 5-3.
Senior Anna Smrek led the Badgers in kills (10) and blocks (a season-high seven), while hitting .412, which just missed her season high for hitting percentage. Devyn Robinson, another senior, added eight kills, six blocks and a season-high .700 hitting percentage.
Franklin, who set a program record with 33 kills in a four-set victory over Marquette on Tuesday, finished the night with nine kills, 10 digs and a .333 hitting percentage.
Whereas Franklin had 60 swings Tuesday. Friday she led the team with 18 and was one of five Badgers with at least 10 swings.
The growing diversity of UW’s offense should help it in the big picture of the season.
“I feel like it just builds trust on our team that anyone can get it done and anyone can pop off any night like Tank popped off the other night with 33 kills, which is just amazing,” Robinson said. “Tonight, was a little more even. I feel like that is what makes us strong, that we have more than jst one go-to hitter who can put it away.”
Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer, who missed the Marquette match due to a right leg injury, returned and finished with 36 assists and helped the Badgers hit at least .321 in each set.
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield noted that the freshman wasn’t able to practice much this week.
“It was a little bit rusty, but it’s nice to say your setter is a little bit rusty when you’re hitting over .400,” he said. “I guess that’s a good problem to have.”
Wisconsin also had a season high 12 ½ blocks, while its eight aces were its second-highest total of the season.
Troy, which is picked to finish second in the Sun Belt West, dropped to 5-4 and was held to a .057 hitting percentage, its second lowest of the season and the lowest for a UW opponent. One of the Trojans’ top players is junior setter Janelle Stuempfig, who finished with 12 assists.
The first set was not only the closest of the match but also the most competitive. The score was tied 13-13 when junior Gulce Guctekin served six straight points to break open the set. Robinson and senior Julia Orzol had two kills during the run.
The next two sets were marked by fast starts by Wisconsin.
In the second, the Badgers scored 10 of the first 12 points with Smrek and senior Caroline Crawford getting two blocks and a kill during that stretch. In the third, UW also led, 10-2, but this time the run was marked by balance as five players scored kills during that stretch led by Smrek’s three.
It made for a quick evening for UW. The match took just one hour, 18 minutes, just 2 minutes longest than the team’s shortest match of the year (UWM).
It’s a good thing because the Badgers will be back in action at the Field House at 7 p.m. Saturday against Texas A&M, which is 8-0.
“I feel like we went in and did our jobs and luckily we got it done quick so now it’s time for us to recover and get ready for Texas A&M,” Robinson said. “That’s all there is to it really, just get ready for the next team because we’ve got a pretty good team tomorrow night.”
Wisconsin
Wisconsin mourns the passing of its greatest high school basketball legends
Joe Wolf, a legendary figure in Wisconsin high school basketball, who led Kohler High to three Wisconsin state basketball championships, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 59.
The news was broken on Thursday by a post on X from Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook editor Mark Miller and later confirmed by the Milwaukee Bucks. At the time of his death, Wolf was an assistant coach with the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ G-League affiliate.
Wolf had an 11 year NBA career after being selected with the 13th overall pick, by the Los Angeles Clippers, in the 1987 NBA Draft. He played with nine different NBA teams including Milwaukee during the 1996-97 season. This came after a brilliant four-year college career at the University of North Carolina.
“The Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Herd assistant coach and Kohler native Joe Wolf,” said the statement from the Bucks. “Throughout his life, Joe touched many lives and was a highly respected, adored and dedicated coach and player across the NBA. His well-regarded talent was instrumental for the Bucks and Herd over eight years with the organization, including as a player and coach.”
Before he became an All-ACC selection at North Carolina and a NBA player and coach, Wolf was a high school legend at Kohler.
In a 2005 poll by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wolf was voted the greatest high school basketball player in Wisconsin history.
“With his size and skills, he was the best I’ve seen,” Win Parkinson, who coached at Milwaukee Tech for 33 seasons, told the Journal Sentinel in 2005. “He was in the state tournament at the same time we were and I went to see him play at Sheboygan.
“He had a heck of a following and a heck of a career. I just look at him as one of the most complete players I’ve ever seen.”
Wisconsin
Hurricane Helene landfall prep; Wisconsin volunteers headed south
WISCONSIN – Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday evening, Sept. 26, but the impact will be felt for weeks, if not longer.
Some areas have been under a tropical storm warning and tornado warnings because of Helene. Some Wisconsinites are already headed south to help.
Hurricanes are a bit more personal now for Michael Hoffmann.
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“You just see pictures and videos, but you don’t understand what actually happens,” Hoffman said.
The Waukesha native and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee grad is now a teacher in Ocala, Fla. The city is outside Helene’s direct path, but that’s still bracing for bands of thunderstorms.
“Right now, we just got a bunch of flashlights ready,” Hoffman said. “We have coolers ready to go for food from the fridge if we need to, if we lose power.”
Ryan Cedergren, who happens to be studying meteorology at Florida State University, said his campus is essentially shut down. The hurricane is headed right for Tallahassee Thursday night.
“We noticed earlier today, it’s like a kind of eerie calm before the storm,” he said.
Students there have either evacuated or are staying in designated shelters on-campus.
“We were in this building for Idalia, and it did pretty well,” Cedergren said. “Our only concern is Tallahassee is very hilly, so we might deal with some flooding. It doesn’t drain super well. And then, we’ll probably lose power pretty quickly.”
It helps explain why more than a dozen volunteers from the American Red Cross of Wisconsin are already headed south.
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“The volunteers that are there right now have helped to set up shelters in northern Florida,” American Red Cross of Wisconsin Regional Communications Director Jennifer Warren said. “We also have volunteers that have driven ERVs, which are emergency response vehicles, down to Florida.”
Leaving their homes behind to help Floridians make it back to theirs, too.
“They provide comfort, care,” Warren said. “They help with handing out food, water.”
The Red Cross is accepting monetary donations to help recovery efforts there.
The nonprofit also recommends blood donations as Helene put a halt to that in several southern states.
For more information, visit the Red Cross website.
Wisconsin
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