It looked like the Badgers showed up half-asleep against Ohio State and weren't expecting the Buckeyes to throw their hardest punch at them. The Badgers dropped the first set, and that shook the team awake, making them scrap and claw their way through the next three sets to end up with a four-set victory.
Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said he felt the game was good for the Badgers, which has been a constant theme for Sheffield in close games or losses. Sheffield has seemingly fully embraced the fact that this team is young and growing. After the win, he said, "Anytime that you have to battle, especially on the road, and especially in this conference...you've got to fight and scrap. It's good for us."
In one sense, this is very true, as the Big Ten is the deepest and best volleyball conference in the NCAA. However, the Ohio State Buckeyes only have four conference wins this season. This is a match that Wisconsin fans would want to see an easy sweep, but it just wasn't meant to be. Wisconsin's new lineup needed a shock to get going.
Another match, another new lineup for Wisconsin
Sheffield once again rolled out a new starting lineup, one he hasn't used at any other point this season. Here's what it looked like:
Charlie Fuerbringer - Setter
Grace Egan - Outside Hitter
Decelise Champion - Outside Hitter
Grace Lopez - Right Side
Lynney Tarnow - Middle Blocker
Jaela Auguste - Middle Blocker
Kristen Simon - Libero
Champion has mostly been regulated to the right side, but with Lopez getting another start, Champion got the play on the outside. It was also another match where Eva Travis and Audrey Flanagan didn't get any time. Flanagan is getting a rest as she's carried a heavy load, and the team is finally healthy enough to give her a break. Travis could have been a matchup issue or simply an opportunity to try other combinations for Sheffield.
Sheffield is clearly letting his depth get some valuable playing time before the postseason. The strength of this team may be the fact that the Badgers have a very deep bench. How will Sheffield utilize it, that remains to be fully seen.
Decelise Champion was playing a different position than what she's mostly played for Wisconsin
It took Champion a bit to get her bearings, but when she did, she put on a clinic on the outside. She led the Badgers with 15 kills, hitting .467. There were four other players with double-digit kills, fully showing how great Charlie Fuerbringer played in this one.
Sheffield was not only impressed with the grittiness of this team to fight through four sets but also with the serving. He's clearly working on getting the serving going before it matters a ton in the postseason. The team had 10 aces, with Simon and Natalie Wardlow both getting four apiece.
"We had some really, really good serving," Sheffield said after closing out Rutgers. "[We] put a ton of pressure on these guys behind the serving line."
The Badgers have one more match before the inaugural Big Ten Tournament. It's back at home in the UW Field House against Northwestern on Tuesday, November 17.
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