Wisconsin volleyball to face Kentucky in NCAA semifinal match

(UW ATHLETICS) – The No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team will continue its journey in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 18, as they will take on No. 1 Kentucky in the National Semifinals at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. First serve will occur 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first semifinal between No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 1 Pittsburgh, which is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. CT. Both matches will be televised on ESPN.

The Badgers (28-4) punched their ticket to the NCAA National Semifinals for the seventh time in program history this past weekend. UW has done so in five of the past seven seasons, tied with Pitt for the most in the country during that time span. 

Wisconsin will be making their sixth appearance in the NCAA National Semifinal under head coach Kelly Sheffield, going 3-2 in the five previous matches. 

UW will battle against the Wildcats for the first time since the 2022 season on Thursday night, as the Badgers have secured victories in three-straight matches. The two teams have never faced each other in the postseason. Thursday’s match will feature two of the four AVCA Player of the Year finalists in UW’s Mimi Colyer and Kentucky’s Eva Hudson, as announced on Monday. 

In their black jerseys, the Badgers stormed into Gregory Gymnasium and defeated both No. 2 Stanford and No. 1 Texas in four sets apiece. UW turned in a hitting percentage of .420 against the Cardinal in the Regional Semifinal, their highest mark in a four-set match in program history. 

The Badgers then handed Texas their second home loss of the season to advance to Kansas City, as Kentucky was the only other team to accomplish that feat during the year. 

Colyer was named the MVP of the NCAA Texas Regional All-Tournament Team behind a combined 50 kills on a .340 hitting percentage. The senior led all players in kills in both matches to pace the Badgers on the offensive end. 

Middle blocker Carter Booth joined Colyer in that party, racking up 25 kills from the front row for Wisconsin in their pair of matches. The senior elevated to second in the country in hitting percentage at .454, which is on pace to shatter a school record in an individual season. Outside hitter Una Vajagic followed Colyer and Booth with double-digit kill totals in both matches, swinging an impressive .458 on the weekend. 

Libero Kristen Simon racked up 15 digs versus Texas and played stellar defense throughout for the Badgers in their pair of wins, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team, too. Simon is six digs away from tying current UW assistant coach and former Badger great Lauren Carlini for most in a freshman season. 

To round it out, setter Charlie Fuerbringer was excellent once again, as Wisconsin enters Kansas City with an unblemished 11-0 record since her return from injury. As a team, the Badgers are hitting .363 during that stretch, where the sophomore is averaging 13.39 assists per set. In the four NCAA Tournament matches, Fuerbringer has put up 14.00 assists per set, highlighted by a career-best 61 against Stanford. 

The Badgers will play to advance to the National Championship match for just the fifth time in program history—looking to earn another title since the 2021 season.