Wisconsin volleyball starts the season ranked No. 6 in the nation ahead of a highly competitive season. The Badgers will see No. 3 Kentucky, No. 7 Louisville, No. 5 Stanford, and No. 4 Pittsburgh in the first four matches of the season. They will eventually play every single top-10 team except for themselves. It's an insane schedule, and no other sport does it this way, and yet, the Badgers are eager and excited for the competition.
Let's go through game-by-game and predict how Wisconsin's season will go. If the Badgers win every game in which they are the higher-ranked team, they will go 22-5. So, there's at least that. But that's not how it will go; there will be some stunning games, both ways, throughout the season. Let's dive in.
AVCA First Serve:
The first two tournaments of the year are brutal, and Badger fans would love to walk out with a split. There's a chance to see a 2-0 or an 0-2. Don't panic or get too excited either way; the season is young. The first match is a rematch for Wisconsin, a team that knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 3 Kentucky - WIN
No. 7 Louisville - LOSS
Opening Spike Classic:
The second tournament will probably also be looking at a split with Wisconsin matching up against Stanford a bit better than Pitt, but out of the four matches to start the season, these two have more appeal in terms of matchups and the Badgers.
No. 5 Stanford - WIN
No. 4 Pitt - LOSS
Big Ten/SEC Challenge:
Things start to ease a little as Wisconsin heads out of those first two tournaments, but not by much, playing a No. 17-ranked Florida and a team with some under-the-radar firepower in Auburn.
No. 17 Florida - WIN
Auburn - WIN
Non-Conference Games:
Then, because Kelly Sheffield is a madman who loves high-level competition, the Badgers take on the two ranked Texas schools. The defending national champs and a team that spent a lot of last season ranked No. 1, followed by a couple of, hopefully, tune-up games before the Big Ten schedule.
No. 8 Texas A&M - WIN
No. 2 Texas - LOSS
Marquette - WIN
Milwaukee - WIN
Big Ten Season:
The Big Ten season should be manageable for the Badgers this season. While it's the toughest conference in volleyball, the schedule works out well for Wisconsin in 2026. The two matches you can circle are the two top-10 games on the road, Purdue and Nebraska. Those are pivotal, and while both are predicted as losses below, they would be huge pickups for the Badgers if they can pull out the win.
No. 25 Oregon - WIN
No. 9 Purdue - LOSS
No. 16 Indiana - WIN
No. 14 Minnesota - WIN
Illinois - WIN
No. 1 Nebraska - LOSS
Maryland - WIN
Iowa - WIN
Washington - WIN
Michigan - WIN
No. 20 USC - WIN
UCLA - WIN
Michigan State - WIN
No. 10 Penn State - WIN
Rutgers - WIN
Ohio State - WIN
Northwestern - WIN
At the end of the season, before it even starts, we are going to predict a 22-5 record; it was just arrived at a different way than simply winning all the games you're supposed to win. This still feels a little safe, and there weren't too many aggressive swings in this prediction, but with this Badger team it's hard to know. The ceiling is incredibly high, but where's the floor? That's the big question.
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