(UW ATHLETICS/LEARFIELD) MADISON – The No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team begins their quest to Kansas City and an NCAA Championship this week, as they will take on Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Dec. 4 at the UW Field House in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Badgers’ match is set to start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the other First Round battle between No. 6 UTEP and North Carolina. First serve is slated for 4:30 p.m. CT between the Tar Heels and the Miners. Each match will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Badgers (24-4) earned a three seed and are set to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive year, not including the COVID season in 2020. During that stretch, UW has accumulated an unblemished 13-0 record.
Under head coach Kelly Sheffield, the Badgers have advanced to the Regional Semifinals or further during the previous 12 years of his tenure. Sheffield holds a record of 42-11 at Wisconsin in postseason action—including a 28-2 record at the UW Field House.
Sheffield talked about his team and how the Badgers are in the NCAA Tournament for 13 straight years with this years team especially talented.
Sheffield said that the tournament is the start of a whole new season.
UW will take on the Panthers in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, matching up for the first time in 20 years. The Badgers hold a 4-2 record all-time versus the Panthers, going 3-1 in Madison. Eastern Illinois enters as the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Outside hitter Mimi Colyer earned her fifth Big Ten Player of the Week award, accumulating the most weekly awards of any Badger since former setter Sydney Hilley did so in 2021, when Wisconsin went on to win the National Championship.
The senior has emerged as one of the top producers in the country on the offensive end, settling in at third place in kills per set (5.32) and points per set (5.93).
Colyer, middle blocker Carter Booth and setter Charlie Fuerbringer each garnered All-Big Ten First Team honors this week as well—guiding UW to the second-highest hitting percentage in the country at .317. The Badgers finished in second place in the Big Ten, turning in 17 conference wins in the process. Libero Kristen Simon rounded out the awards for Wisconsin, earning a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
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