4 thoughts on Wisconsin volleyball after the exciting alumni match

The Wisconsin volleyball season is here- well, not officially in terms of wins and losses, but in terms of fan experience, practices, and getting the team going. The alumni match to kick off the 2026 season was a huge success. However, the all-star team ended up winning 3-1 versus the current team. In some ways, that's a good thing, as the ceiling is high for the current roster and early lessons will go a long way.

Here are a few thoughts from the alumni match.

1. The most super-charged alumni match ever

Alumni matches are not always as juiced up as this one. It truly looked like an all-star team and many of the stars that helped win the game for the alumni are current professionals. Mimi Colyer and Sarah Franklin ended with the most kills for the alumni at 12 and 11, respectively.

The roster also featured Alicia Andrew, Carter Booth, Lauren Carlini, Tiffany Clark, Caroline Crawford, Sydney Hilley, Grace Loberg, and Temi Thomas-Aliara. It was fun for the current players to have such an incredible match and one that was absolutely competitive. And then at the end, when they all joined together to sing Varsity, it was beautiful and amazing.

2. The roster has some intriguing details

The starting roster for the current team was intriguing to say the least. Of course, Grace Lopez was being eased back into action and wasn't featured to start (playing only the back row). Thompson also was back row only. Jaela Auguste and Morgan Van Wie were listed as out. So, it was creative to begin with, but there are still some things to learn.

Starting libero was Anna Bardaro; this is fascinating, but more on this later (as it's interesting enough to get its own number).
Egan was the starting right side, which means that Sheffield still sees her as the backup to Lopez. We also see Kymora Scott as a starting middle blocker, which means she's way closer to the starting rotation than we originally thought. It seems her competitive fire is getting her to rise with the rest of the team.
Finally, Flanagan as a starting outside hitter is telling as a true freshman. Maybe this changes with Thompson more healthy. Will Champion get featured at some point? She's nowhere to be found on the stat sheet.

3. Audrey Flanagan is a potential star

Flanagan was a star; if there is a competition for hitters, it seems like Flanagan may have earned at least a heavier load. She led both teams in kills with 17. She was dynamic and aggressive. Sheffield talks about wanting hitters with "LIVE" arms; she certainly was live in this match.

We knew she was a top star out of high school, but with other high school stars coming in like Thompson and Champion, it's hard to tell who gets the first shot. There's also Madison Quest and Grace Egan hanging out from last season. It's going to be interesting to see roster management from Sheffield, but Flanagan is electric.

4. There's a real battle for libero

Kristen Simon was in a battle last year for the starting libero, and when she took the gig, the other two transferred out at the end of last season. Now she finds herself in another libero battle with international transfer Anna Bardaro. They both played three sets and had similar stats, but it's clearly a positional battle for the starting role.

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