Wisconsin volleyball was announced as a No.3 seed in the "Texas" region, and now their journey back to a National Championship has become clear. They didn't get the most difficult draw, but each step will get more and more difficult, and if the Badgers can make it to the end of their region, they will have a rematch with No. 1 Texas, a team that swept them at the beginning of the season.
Besides Texas, there are only two other opponents in their region that they saw this season: the Indiana Hoosiers and the Penn State Nittany Lions. There's a high likelihood that they will not see either Big Ten foe as they both fall in the same section as Texas and would have to eventually face the Longhorns before a match with Wisconsin.
Wisconsin had a good draw but to get to the championship will have to find a way through Texas
The first opponent for Wisconsin is Eastern Illinois on Thursday, December 4th, at 7 pm CT in the UW Field House. The Panthers went 24-7 this season and are riding a four-game win streak to arrive at the NCAA Tournament. Eastern Illinois only saw one Big Ten opponent this season: Illinois, whom they were swept by in three sets.
With a win, the Badgers would take on the winner of North Carolina and No. 6 UTEP. If the Badgers continue to advance to the next round, they would most likely take on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal. One of the top-rated teams in the tournament, which has only lost four times this season, and all four losses were to other No. 2 seeds or better in the tournament.
Wisconsin is the only team in that section that could upset the Cardinal, so if the Badgers can do what needs to be done and follow the chalk of the tournament, there will be a match looming against Stanford and following against Texas. It will be tough, but that's the whole point.