Kelly Sheffield has been like a mad scientist in the volleyball laboratory this season. He's mixed different ingredients and different combinations, looking for the best results for Wisconsin volleyball. Some of that has been forced upon him due to injuries, but he's also been very intentional about it. Between the newcomers on his team and the volleyball schedule, he's taking his time to settle into a rotation.
Now that Big Ten play is upon Wisconsin, he says he's close to finalizing the rotation and the playing time. "We are closer to being locked in on what our lineup ends up being," said Sheffield, "hopefully, that will iron a few things out."
Sheffield is looking at making sure he's clear to his team about who's communicating out of timeouts, in huddles, and the responsibilities on the court. The rotating of lineups has helped this squad early in the season, but now it's time for the responsibility and communication to get settled.
In #badgervolleyball news, Kelly Sheffield said that they are closer to getting locked in on what their lineup is going to look like. He hopes it will, "iron a few things out...communication and responsibility stuff."
— Kate Fox (@katefoxsports) September 21, 2026
He said the coaching staff has spent the last couple days…
What will the Wisconsin volleyball lineup look like?
Related: Kelly Sheffield had a frustrated assessment of Wisconsin volleyball after Milwaukee win
Sheffield said that he and the coaching staff have had conversations this week with players about playing time. He compared it to when you have a job interview, and they don't call for days, and you'd rather have "no" than just be stuck in limbo forever. He said playing time can be a lot like that. Players are waiting to know what their role will be, and at a certain point, they just want to know.
The incredible stat he threw out is that the majority of the Wisconsin volleyball roster up to this point has played in 40% of the sets. That's incredible, but not sustainable as Big Ten play opens up and the Badgers plan to make a push for the crown.
Now is the time; Sheffield said he needed the non-conference to figure out his 11 new players and wouldn't make a lineup on only two weeks of information. He wanted to see the team in action and who rises to the top. The roles also had to be figured out, and for Sheffield, it's not just being a setter, libero, hitter, or blocker.
He's looking at five team culture type roles: Studs, energizers, stabilizers, winners, and leaders. The hard part is that all these players are former premier players and came from places where they were the studs and expected leaders. But now at Wisconsin, they may be more of a stabilizer or energizer.
Well, how does Sheffield see the lineup shaking out, after all that? Well, he's not ready to say, and he wouldn't publicly anyway. But you can bet there are a few easy predictions. Charlie Fuerbringer and Jaela Auguste are two players you can write in Sharpie. It looks like Decelise Champion and Grace Lopez will be the main players on the right side. Audrey Flanagan and Eva Travis will find a role, and so will Anna Bardaro and Kristen Simon.
Yet, if you want to look at sets played as an indicator, here's a quick list of the top sets played:
38 sets - Charlie Fuerbringer, Anna Bardaro, Kristen Simon
35 sets - Lynney Tarnow
34 sets - Isabelle Hoppe
33 sets - Eva Travis, Audrey Flanagan
26 sets - Grace Lopez, Natalie Wardlow
That may be a little misleading, though, as Jaela Auguste was injured for most of the non-conference, and Decelise Champion was in Puerto Rico for the first month. So, it's not overly clear what Sheffield will do, and maybe Oregon will reveal it, or maybe not, but Sheffield says it's close.
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