Wisconsin volleyball sweeps Indiana, Kelly Sheffield becomes program’s all-time wins leader

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 306^th  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, 12^th 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