The Wisconsin Badgers took down the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road for a Sunday afternoon game. The Badgers jumped off to a hot start but hit a lull in sets two and three. Wisconsin was able to battle out a win in that third set; they ended up losing the second set 28-26. It wasn't the prettiest match in the world for Wisconsin, but head coach Kelly Sheffield was impressed with the tenacity on defense.
"This match was about our defense," Sheffield said after the match. "We were really, really good defensively. We were making great efforts in the backcourt and working hard in transition."
The Jaela August 20 kill performance will stand out, and she definitely deserves her flowers for a career-high in kills. Charlie Fuerbringer had another huge assist match, compiling 55 of them while two other players got double-digit kills (Decelise Champion and Lynney Tarnow). The match for Sheffield came from the defense, something he's been wanting to see grow since playing Nebraska.
Nebraska has the best defense in the nation, and it's the primary reason they are undefeated and sitting at No. 1 in the AVCA poll. It feels impossible for teams to find the floor against them. The Huskers fly around and have excellent serve receive, blocking, and passing. Sheffield spoke after getting swept by Nebraska, saying that Wisconsin has the talent to be just as good but needs to put in the practice to get there.
Wisconsin's defense won the day and Jaela Auguste's 20 kills certainly helped too
Against Iowa, Sheffield was seeing it. There was only one reception error all game against Audrey Flanagan. She also had 30 receptions, so her percentage was still insanely high. Two other players also had double-digit receptions: Kristen Simon with 19 and Anna Bardaro with 11.
The attack of Iowa was clearly trying to find a hole with Flanagan, but the true freshman wasn't going to let them. She also had seven digs to go along with her 30 receptions. The only other player to have more digs was Anna Bardaro with 15. It was an impressive afternoon for Wisconsin in serve reception. This is why Sheffield was impressed with everyone "working hard in transition."
Add in the fact that Wisconsin also had 7 total blocks and held Iowa to a .223 hitting percentage across the entire match; you can see why Sheffield was impressed. The Badgers really only had one set that they let the defense go to sleep, and they lost that set (2). The Hawkeyes had a hitting percentage of .405. The other sets were 0.77, .212, and .120.
It's something to build off of for Sheffield and the Badgers with No. 20 Washington looming on the schedule next. A big question will be: can they keep it going? A bigger question may be if Grace Egan makes her return. She's been in uniform for the past two games and on the bench, but isn't fully recovered yet from her scary back injury.
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