The Wisconsin Badgers went 6-1 over the weekend in Los Angeles, beating USC and UCLA in back-to-back matches. It was the game against the Bruins that stands out, though. Something was remarkably different about this Wisconsin Badger team. They were doing something they haven't done all year: blocking at a high, high level.
It's hard not to think that maybe the decision to swap Natalie Wardlow and Jaela Auguste was a big part of it, and maybe in one way it was. There's more to that story than maybe we will ever know. But Sheffield said after the match that it was something they've spent the whole weekend working on in practice.
"We spent a lot of time yesterday when we got here blocking," Sheffield said. He then added that they also spent a ton of time working on serving. "What you like to see is the things that you work on, is that it shows. I thought we served and blocked very, very well."
He's not wrong; Wisconsin has been a very inefficient blocking team this year. It's one of the biggest weaknesses on this young Badger team. It's put their back row into a lot of bad situations. The receiving defense has had to be far better than a team that actually can block well. Sheffield has worked to fix it all weekend, and it showed against UCLA.
Wisconsin's ability to block against UCLA may end up changing the entire end to this season
Related: 3 thoughts after Wisconsin cruised by UCLA including a major lineup change by Kelly Sheffield
The Badgers had 14 total blocks with 26 total block assists. That's an incredible performance, and everyone seemed to be getting involved. Decelise Champion led the way with 8 total blocks; Lynney Tarnow and Natalie Wardlow each had six; Eva Travis had four, and Charlie Fuerbringer walked away with three.
All in all, it led to UCLA having a very low hitting percentage of .142 and constantly scrambling to get around, through, or over blocks. It was not an easy day for the Bruin hitters, and that was the goal for Sheffield.
It's not fair to speculate on how Jaela Auguste, the star middle blocker for Wisconsin, is picking up what Sheffield is teaching or prepping the Badgers for. She was on the bench for the UCLA and the Big Ten broadcast called it a "coach's decision." Does that play a role in some of this? Does Wardlow bring that extra blocking presence that allows the defense to flow more seamlessly? Or was it an off-day for Auguste?
Either way, something was working for the Badgers in this one, and if Wisconsin can keep this sort of block up throughout the rest of the season, that's one huge tool in an already loaded tool chest for the Badgers.
It's interesting to hear that Sheffield was also impressed with the serving. It didn't seem to be a major factor in the game, with only one ace and yet five service errors, but clearly he was looking for something that maybe the stat sheet isn't going to tell us.
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