Wisconsin came blazing out of the gate to surprise a Stanford team in their first match of the season. The Badgers won the first set without a blush or even breaking a sweat, 25-15. However, when Wisconsin had match point up three in the second set, they started to collapse, and from that point on, Stanford took control, and it seemed like Wisconsin never found it again. They lost that set 28-26 and the next two 25-20 and 25- 14.
There are four real clear problems with Wisconsin volleyball, and yet there aren't great immediate answers to any of them. Ultimately, the Badgers will be one of the best teams at the end of the season, but for now, the beginning of the season is exposing the issues. The Opening Spike Classic is another example.
1. The injuries are a problem
Two of Wisconsin's stars are injured or recovering from injury. We've yet to see Grace Lopez in the front row, and she is potentially one of the best players on the team. She's the only clear right side for Wisconsin, yet she can't play it because she still isn't 100% from her injury last season. So, she's coming in to serve and play in the back row, but that's not enough. The Badgers need Lopez back.
Add in the fact that Jaela Auguste couldn't go against Stanford, leaving a gaping hole in the middle. The veteran middle blocker has been one of the stars for Wisconsin early in this season, and it was a big loss not to have her. She will hopefully be back next game, but no word has been said on that front.
2. The freshmen are playing (mostly) like freshmen
We knew the freshmen were going to have a "welcome to college volleyball" experience, and with the schedule, we knew it was going to be furious and fast. The freshmen are playing like freshmen, and you can see the high ceiling, but you can also see the mental mistakes and the ugly errors that freshmen tend to make, no matter how talented.
Audrey Flanagan has been a wonder this season, but even she hasn't been without her moments. A team like Stanford with a ton of veterans absolutely started exposing the freshmen on Wisconsin. And then the pressure really mounted. And when veterans feel like they have to compensate on the Wisconsin side of things, it gets worse. It led to the Badgers hitting a terrible .164 and committing a season-high 26 attack errors.
3. The errors are mind-boggling
Speaking of errors, Wisconsin looks like a team that is fully capable of being amazing and error-free for good stretches. The whole first set was remarkable, but then as things started to collapse and Stanford found ways to get Wisconsin out of system, it was awful. And then as the errors compounded, even when the Badgers were in system, there were self-inflicted errors.
There were full sections of this match that were hard to watch. Some of it was freshmen being freshmen, but there were plenty of errors on the rest of the team too. Eva Travis led the team with 10 errors on her own. Grace Egan had three service errors. It wasn't pretty.
4. The competition has given zero time to grow
I'm a very big proponent of the early competition for the sake of the growth of college volleyball. All these high-level teams playing each other early in the season is fun, and the data proves that more eyeballs are watching. However, it's a bad time for Wisconsin to have to play all this top-10 competition. For the above three reasons. If they could let their freshmen settle in and the injuries heal while playing like Boise State or Campbell or something, that would be ideal.
So, not a complaint, this is better for Wisconsin long-term and better for volleyball overall, but the three reasons above this one are being magnified by elite teams full of veterans.
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