Reaction: Wisconsin Badgers women’s volleyball falls short in Elite Eight

The Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team was upended in the Elite Eight by Stanford Saturday night, ending an incredible season.

In a heartbreaking loss, the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team came up short in their national championship quest on Saturday, losing to No. 6 Stanford in five sets in front of a sold out crowd in Madison. While the game is nearing 24 hours since its completion, the stats and numbers of the game are beginning to become foggy.

The players’ and school’s reaction to the devastating end to the season is not.

Senior setter Lauren Carlini, who has a career in volleyball far beyond her playing days at Wisconsin, took to social media to deliver a heartfelt message.

She then took her thoughts to Instagram, which can be seen in the following link.

She will be leaving Wisconsin with a long list of honors to be proud of:

Honors
2014, 2015 AVCA First-Team All-American
2013 AVCA Second-Team All-American
2014 Big Ten Player of the Year
2014, 2015 Big Ten Setter of the Year
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 All-Big Ten
2014 Louisville NCAA Regional All-Tournament
2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 AVCA All-Northeast Region
2013 AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year
2013 NCAA Championship All-Tournament
2013 Champaign NCAA Regional MVP
Big Ten Player of the Week–Oct. 27, 2014
Big Ten Setter of the Week–Sept. 8, 2014; Sept. 22, 2014; Nov. 3, 2014 (co); Nov. 24, 2014; Oct. 5, 2015; Nov. 9, 2015; Nov. 16, 2015; Nov. 30, 2015; Aug. 29, 2016 (co); Oct. 31, 2016; Nov. 21, 2016 Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week–Nov. 4, 2013
2016 Rainbow Wahine Invitational MVP
2015 Creighton Classic All-Tournament
2014 and 2016 HotelRED Invitational All-Tournament
2013 NC State Invitational All-Tournament
2014, 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District
2014, 2015, 2016 Academic All-Big Ten

“Hard to believe it’s done, proud of this team,” Carlini said after Saturday’s elimination.

Haleigh Nelson, another senior, was very emotional about the loss- stating it was hard to participate in one of the school’s finest traditions after the match, knowing there would not be another one.

“I’m just so grateful to have been a part of such an amazing program and played in such an amazing venue like the Field House,” Nelson said. “So while singing ‘Varsity’ for the last time was after obviously a terrible loss that hurts really bad, I really tried to enjoy it because it was my last time on the court with these people that I love so much. So while maybe it seems like it was hard to sing, it wasn’t because it’s just so special to me to play here and get to do the things like that that make the Field House so special.”

Fellow seniors Romana Kriskova and Tori Blake joined Nelson and Carlini to a standing ovation before saying goodbye to the UW Field House for the final time.

The four seniors won 113 of their 137 games during their tenures at Wisconsin, in addition to winning a conference title, earning a number one ranking, and putting the volleyball program back in the national spotlight.

Truly a lot to be proud of, Badgers fans.