Wisconsin
Wisconsin volleyball sweeps Indiana, Kelly Sheffield becomes program’s all-time wins leader
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.
The Wisconsin volleyball team extended its winning streak to eight matches Thursday night and made a bit of history.
The Badgers, who are ranked eighth in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, swept Indiana, 25-23, 25-18, 25-13, at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, to give coach Kelly Sheffield his 306th victory as UW coach. That allowed him to pass Pete Waite as the program’s all-time leader in victories.
The milestone came on a night when the Badgers overcame a slow start to hit over .300 for the seventh time in nine Big Ten matches while recording their sixth straight match with double-digit blocks (14).
Senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin finished with 15 kills, four blocks and a .314 hitting percentage for UW. Seniors Anna Smrek (10 kills, .429, seven blocks) and Caroline Crawford (nine, .412 and eight blocks) did the job at the net offensive and defensively. Crawford recorded her 600th career block in the second set. Senior Devyn Robinson added eight kills, didn’t post a hitting error and finished with a .615 hitting percentage and five blocks.
UW (14-4, 8-1 Big Ten) hit .474 during the final two sets. Indiana, which played without all-American setter Camryn Haworth and junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum, never led.
The Hoosiers ran a two-setter offense without Haworth. Sophomore Luca Fickell, daughter of Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell, finished with a career-best 10 assists.
Staff continuity has been key for Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield
Sheffield’s journey to 306 wins hasn’t been done alone. Associated head coaches Brittany Dildine and Gary White have been with him throughout his tenure at Wisconsin. So has director of volleyball operation Jess Williams.
Other staff members such as Annemarie Hickey, who is in her ninth year with the program, have long associations with the program as well.
Sheffield noted those people when asked about the milestone on the Badgers post-match radio show.
“My first year at Albany I didn’t have assistants. We didn’t have a trainer that came to practice. I drove the vans. I was the strength coach. When we did study hall I was the one who oversaw that. I did the class checks and that is not what we have here,” he said.
“It’s a lot of support (here). This sport is really important to our university, to our fanbase and they make decisions that have allowed us to go out and get really good people.”
A look at Wisconsin volleyball’s all-time coaching leaders
1. Kelly Sheffield (2013-present) – 306-65 .825, 12th season; 182-40 .820 Big Ten.
2. Pete Waite (1999-2012) – 305-147 .675, 14 seasons; 170-110 .607 Big Ten.
3. John Cook (1992-98) – 161-73 .688 seven seasons; 89-51 .636 Big Ten.
4. Steve Lowe (1986-90) – 106-63 .627 five seasons; 46-44 .511 Big Ten.
5. Kristi Conklin (1978-80) – 88-46-6 .650 three seasons; 3-9 Big Ten .333.
6. Pat Hielscher (1975-77) – 83-42-6 .645 three seasons; 11-8 .579 Big Ten
(This story was updated to correct information)
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin volleyball have achieved elite status with help from cohesive coaching staff
Wisconsin
Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars
The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.
She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.
Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.
The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.
The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.
Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.

From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.
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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