SWEET SIXTEEN SWEET SIXTEEN
#6 Texas A&M (21-7) vs #2 Wisconsin (25-6)
Date: December 13
Time: 6pm central
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: ESPN2
Round: Sweet 16
Opponent: Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Roster:
https://uwbadgers.com/sports/womens-volleyball/rosterWisconsin Stats:
https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/uwbadgers.com/stats/wvball/2024/pdf/cume.pdfStats:
https://www.ncaa.com/game/6343901OH HOW SWEET IT IS! That's right, I hope you enjoyed your week off, but the dance continues!! Our wonderful ladies will continue their sensational season Friday night in Lincoln, Nebraska. 6pm we will be facing against the storied volleyball program of Wisconsin in a sweet sixteen matchup!
As many of you know, we already faced Wisconsin at their place in September and got swept 3-0. However, the match was closer than the score indicates. Both teams are different teams in December and thankfully the match won't be in their hostile Madison environment again. It'll be in Nebraska and those Nebraska volleyball fans hate Wisconsin, so hopefully there's a large contingent of Cornhuskers cheering for us lol!
In that first match we really struggled with their block. As most teams do. They have maybe the tallest lineup in the country. They have middles that are 6'9, 6'6, and 6'3, as well as pins that are 6'4 and 6'2!
So it'll be up to the coaches to decide if we need to set up hits quickly to keep them from forming a block, or if we focus on angling our shots to hit the ball off their hands! It'll probably out be both, we just have to have great first passes and allow Maddie Waak to dictate the offense! Humphrey and Hellmuth really struggled offensively in that first matchup and could not work around their block. We also had minimal blocks and 13 service errors! We got to have an outside presence from Hellmuth/Humphrey! Let's tool with their block, let's get some tips in, so we can open up quick and easy sets for Perkins and Cos-Okpalla! We desperately need a serving hero! Someone to step in and earn 3 or more aces!
They do have a well rounded offense, but everything they do runs through reigning national player of the year Sarah Franklin who averages 4.48 kills per set! They do love to set their middles! They all can swing exceptionally well and have crazy height to help! 3 of their middles average over a block per set! We just have to keep them out of system!
So if we can play more efficiently and serve tough, we will have a chance! We are a completely different team than we were in September. There's a reason we're still playing midway into December. Our girls are fighters, they're warriors, they're resilient! Nobody outside of Reed Arena believed we could even be in this position. We're playing amazing volleyball right now, and yes this will be a tall task, but we're up for the challenge! Let's put their backs against the wall and attack attack attack! Wisconsin is main stay in the elite 8 and final four, their entire fan base is looking ahead to a potential elite 8 matchup with Nebraska who they've gotten swept by twice this season. Let them focus on Nebraska… Logan Lednicky and the gang will just make them pay! Let's go BTHO Wisconsin and let's go make some history! WHY NOT US!