Badgers women’s volleyball advances to regional final

(UW ATHLETICS) AUSTIN, TEXAS – The No. 3 seeded Wisconsin volleyball team defeated No. 2 Stanford (25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22) behind another prolific performance on the offensive end—hitting .420 (70 – 15 – 131) by the conclusion of the four-set match. 

The Badgers (27-4) were clicking on all cylinders in the first frame, as UW exploded for a .514 swinging percentage to jump out to a hot start in the first frame. 

Wisconsin utilized a 5-0 serving run from libero Kristen Simon, highlighted by an ace turned in by the freshman—guiding the Badgers to a 15-9 advantage. UW and the Cardinal (29-5) continued to trade points throughout the latter half of the set, led by nine kills from outside hitter Mimi Colyer. 

Stanford was quick to provide a response in this back-and-forth affair, as they put together three separate 3-0 runs to put away the Badgers and even up the match. UW fought back late with the help of a kill apiece from middle blocker Carter Booth and Colyer. Unfortunately for the Badgers, it was not enough, as they fell 21-25 to even up the match at one apiece.

The teams continued to be even throughout the first half of the third frame, with Stanford building a 17-14 cushion. In one of the largest turning points of the match, freshman Natalie Wardlow stepped up in the clutch with three-straight service aces to give UW an 18-17 lead. Wardlow’s four aces on the afternoon tied a career-best, as she last finished with four against No. 1 Nebraska on Oct. 31. 

The Badgers kept the pressure on, forcing the Cardinal out of the system for the remainder of the third set. Right side Grace Egan capped it off with a kill to secure a 25-23 victory. 

Set four brought the same intensity, as Wisconsin jumped out to a 10-6 lead with a pair of kills turned in by outside hitter Una Vajagic. The redshirt sophomore finished with her 10th double-double, hitting .411 with 13 kills, complemented by 11 digs on the defensive end.  

The Cardinal battled and tied it up at 14-14 before the Badgers’ rattled off three consecutive points. Colyer racked up her 2,000th kill of her career in the process—accumulating a match-high 27 at Gregory Gym. The senior earned her final three in the late stages of set four, pushing Wisconsin to the Regional Finals. 

Offensively, Booth tied a career-best with 14 kills, last doing so in the Regional Semifinal last season against Texas A&M. The Denver, Colorado, native swung .700 (14 – 0 – 20) against the Cardinal, as she finished errorless for the fourth-straight match. 

Middle blocker Alicia Andrew joined her in the process, racking up seven kills on nine attempts without an attack error. 

Setter Charlie Fuerbringer was the centerpiece throughout the entirety of the match, tallying a career-high 61 assists to guide the Badgers to their highest hitting percentage in a four-set match in program history.