After the first-set loss, Wisconsin looked like it might be in trouble against the defending National Champions. Texas A&M has Kyndal Stowers back and healthy and she proved she's a difference maker. Yet, it may have been Natalie Ring who did the most damage against the Badgers in that first set.
The Badgers hung on and won set two. It was an absolute battle in set three that went down to the wire, which the Aggies ultimately won. The same could be said of set four, except it was Wisconsin who pulled out the win. Set five had a very similar feel until it didn't. Wisconsin found a way to open things up and finished with a 15-11 victory. How they pulled it off, after looking like it was going to be a frustrating one, is another story.
Let's dive in:
1. Charlie Fuerbringer getting the middles involved
One of the adjustments that was made by Wisconsin after dropping set one was Charlie taking advantage of the middle attack. She was setting the middles consistently to open up the pins; Natalie Wardlow ended with six kills, and Lynney Tarnow had four.
The other thing she did in the same vein was use the setter dump and attacks from the middle (for herself) to get points. Fuerbringer ended with eight kills... as a setter. Electric. Yet, the strategy worked so well because when the pins were getting blocked, Fuerbringer found space for the middle attack.
Related: Kelly Sheffield's reason for constantly changing Wisconsin's lineup is secretly genius
2. Decelise Champion played the wildcard
Champion was a blast; she didn't play in the entire first set. Whether it was the plan or it was Sheffield knowing that he had one of the top players in the world sitting on the bench, who can say? But he put her in, and she immediately changed the game. She had two blocks to end set two, which gave Wisconsin the win in that set.
She's clearly still learning the offense, but it didn't matter enough; she found space to get kills and blocks. The fact that the Aggies had no film on her and didn't know if she would even play or not was a factor. She was the wildcard, and she played it to perfection. She ended with eight kills, eight block assists, as well as three digs.
3. Outlasted on long rallies
What may have been the most impressive, and it was towards the end in sets four and five, was Wisconsin's ability to never give up on any point. Just absolutely wore Texas A&M down. The grittiness, the ability to keep rallies alive, to find a way, just crushed the Aggie attack. Sure, Texas A&M was also working hard to keep things alive, and they won their fair share, but it was the Badgers that did it more often than not.
This was a big win, and the Badgers did it without Jaela Auguste and Grace Egan. The health of the Badgers is still not where it should be, and yet, to win against the defending National Champions is big. Now it's on to Austin to take on Texas.
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