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No. 3 Wisconsin Loses to No. 1 Texas in Volleyball at Fiserv Forum

Vaseline September 1, 2024

The sea of red was expected to blow the roof off the Fiserv Forum on Sunday afternoon.

The third-ranked University of Wisconsin volleyball team had just taken a 21-18 lead in the first set after two consecutive attack errors by No. 1 Texas. The UW fans who packed the stadium for the first day of the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase wanted to force their team to avenge its loss to the Longhorns in last year’s Final Four.

The sound waves were comparable to what you would hear at any other game in a purpose-built stadium for basketball.

But the Badgers couldn’t run on that electricity.

After two epic sets between the teams, the Longhorns came into their own and won 30-28, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11.

“I think it was kind of a tale of two different games,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “First half, unbelievable volleyball back and forth, both teams. Great rallies. Battle. A lot of high level.

“And then I thought their defense and how clean they played just wore us down, honestly. For their opening match, they only had five hitting errors in the third and fourth sets … and defensively, we really struggled to get balls on the ground.”

Here are four lessons we learned from the big event with four ranked teams that continues on Monday:

Devyn Robinson wants UW to become ‘mentally stronger’

The Badgers knew there would be ups and downs with a tough non-conference schedule, though an 0-2 record could be troubling. The last time UW lost its first two games was 1993.

UW also started strong in a season-opening loss at No. 6 Louisville before fading. Fifth-year middle blocker Devyn Robinson knows the Badgers need to sharpen up.

“We learned that we have to be mentally tougher and we have to be ready to show up,” Robinson said. “Those last two sets, Kelly told us in the locker room that we lost that between our ears.

“In our minds and mentally we have to get stronger. There are no words we can use to get there, we just have to do it.”

The Badgers have been held to a .200 hitting percentage in their first two games. UW had 10 service errors against Texas after 17 games against Louisville.

How Texas’ Reagan Rutherford and Madisen Skinner Disrupted UW’s Rhythm

The Longhorns jumped to a 5-2 lead in the third set, and closed it out with a 9-2 run. They cruised in the fourth set.

How could such a sudden change in momentum occur?

“I think we got our middles involved a lot more toward the end of the game,” said Texas outside hitter Madisen Skinner, who had 15 kills and a team-high three aces. “It made us a lot more balanced. I think it took some of the pressure off our pins.

“And it made Wisconsin have to be a little more disciplined and not just commit to our pins. So kudos to the middles and putting together some really good swings and really good blocks.”

Freshman Reagan Rutherford, who scored 14 points in her debut for Texas, was pleased with how evenly her team performed in its season debut.

“I think as the game went on we became more disciplined,” Rutherford said. “With our setting, our positioning, our defense, our blocking.

“Everything went very smoothly and cleanly as we continued our match. Maybe the first and second sets were nervous. We were very excited to come here and we just wanted to show everyone how good we are and how clean we can play.”

Badgers take on No. 5 Stanford on Monday at the Fiserv Forum

UW doesn’t have much time to dwell on the 0-2 start.

The Badgers close out the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase against No. 5 Stanford at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Next, UW plays Texas Christian and No. 23 Baylor in Waco, Texas.

“It’s exciting,” Robinson said. “I’m glad we have one more game after a loss to get back into it.

“A lot of people just think ‘I want to play again! I want to play again!’ And we get that chance and like I said before, there’s not much talking. Just action.”

A crowd of over 14,000 fans shows up for the Wisconsin-Texas game

Fiserv Forum hosted its first volleyball match last season, when more than 17,000 people turned out to watch state rivals Marquette and UW

Sunday’s crowd was a few thousand fewer than that of 14,035, but it was a good turnout for a beautiful afternoon on a holiday weekend. A large portion of the crowd stuck around to watch Stanford play No. 18 Minnesota.

“It’s almost full,” Sheffield said. “Which is awesome. It’s awesome to be in Fiserv and play games like this.

“The crowd tried to pump us up a little bit, and when we probably didn’t respond, it calmed down a little bit where we were. The first half of the game I thought, the environment was just really, really cool.”