Wisconsin won an important non-conference match at home on Sunday afternoon, beating the University of Florida 3-1. Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield was proud of his team and was equally proud of the Wisconsin fanbase. He started his post-game press conference off in awe at the turnout for Wisconsin volleyball. He said they used to stress about playing a home volleyball game at the same time as the Green Bay Packers; now they don't think about it at all with another packed house.
"I remember my first year here at the (UW) Field House, and we had discussions on us playing up against the Packers. This is when the lower bowl was the only thing that was open. We hadn't had the upper deck opened up. We had long dialogues on should all the TVs the concourses have the Packers game on so we can still entice people. 'You can come around and watch us, but we will also give you the Packers game...' Fast forward to today and you're getting over 12,000 people in here up against the Packers. "Kelly Sheffield
Wisconsin volleyball is heading into Big Ten play with all the non-conference momentum
The Wisconsin Badgers have only lost one game all season to the No. 2 team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns. They have been able to handle every other opponent they've faced, including the No. 15 Florida Gators in their final nonconference game of the season.
They now head into Big Ten play with all the momentum and looking like one of the best teams in the conference and the nation. They've faced off against four ranked teams in the non-conference: Texas, Kansas, Georgia Tech, and Florida. They came out on the winning side of all but the Texas match.
They now get to take on Rutgers to open the Big Ten schedule, knowing they have one of the best fan bases in the country at their back. That even the NFL's Green Bay Packers didn't keep fans from showing up, being loud, and willing their Badgers to victory.
While Sheffield mentioned it was 12,000, the official count was 12,277, which is actually more than the listed capacity, officially making it a sellout. Badger fans are incredible, and Kelly Sheffield is inspired by the support.