Result

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — As was all too familiar from last December in Tampa, Florida, the No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team lost in four sets to No. 1 Texas, 28-30, 25-23, 15-25 and 11-25, in the first game of the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase held Sunday afternoon at the Fiserv Forum.

As expected, the first set was a back-and-forth affair, with 16 ties and four lead changes. Wisconsin created some distance with a block of Anna Smrek And Devyn Robinsonand took a 13-9 lead. But a service run by Madisen Skinner equalized to 13:13. A kill by Sarah Franklin UW out of the game, but Texas responded again with another 4-0 run. Wisconsin regained the lead with a 7-1 run to secure a 21-18 lead. A successful Longhorns attack at 27-27 changed the momentum in what initially appeared to be a kill by Devyn Robinsonthen switched to a replay because the Texas libero got under the ball and didn’t touch it. Wisconsin tried to get the next two points but ultimately lost the set 28-30.

Set two was a series of runs. Texas got off to a good start, taking an 8-4 lead fueled by a 6-2 run. Wisconsin continued to catch up until a 4-0 run by the Badgers prompted a timeout by the Longhorns as UW led 12-11. The two teams traded runs. Two kills by Trinity Shadd-Ceres and an ace of Charlie Fuerbringer gave the Badgers a 22-20 lead, from then on Wisconsin fought back and won the second set 25-23, tying the game 0-1.

Texas came out of the break with momentum and took an early 6-2 lead. Three consecutive kills from Franklin brought the Badgers within one point (6-5), but Texas came back on top from there and the Badgers were unable to make up the deficit. The Longhorns won the third set 25-15 and took a 2-1 lead.

Wisconsin struggled to get anything going in the fourth set, while Texas posted a .364 batting average and won the final set and the game 25-11.

Sarah Franklin had the highest kills of the game with 25 (25-10-69). As a team, UW reached .153 (51 kills – 26 errors – 163 attempts).

Jenna Wenaas led the Longhorns with 18 kills. Texas posted a .265 hitting average (60 kills – 17 errors – 162 attempts) on the day.

Charlie Fuerbringer scored 43 assists and 11 digs, her first double-double of the season. Freshman Lola Schumacher led the team with 16 digs.

The Longhorns blocked the Badgers 10.5 to 9.0. Robinson was UW’s best player with four blocks. Fuerbringer and Franklin scored the two service aces for the Badgers.

Directly from the court

Head Coach Kelly Sheffield

For balanced team performance: “I thought Sarah played really, really hard and carried us for long stretches of the game. And I thought our DS did a really good job. It was a little bit of a tougher game for them than the other night. And I thought all three of them, who are still at the very beginning of their careers, are on this stage. They’ve grown compared to a few days ago and there are some positives to take from that.”

Middle blocker Devyn Robinson

What the team learned from this: “We just learned that we have to be mentally tougher and be ready. Kelly talked to us in the locker room and said we lost that between our shoulders, in our heads and mentally. We just have to get tougher and there are no words that will get us there, we just have to do it.”

Important instructions

• The last time the Badgers started a season 0-2 was in 1993.
• Franklin’s 69 attempts in four sets is a school record. Franklin previously held the record and broke it last week on August 27 against Louisville.
• With 43 assists and 11 digs, freshman Charlie Fuerbringer recorded her first double-double of her career.
• Texas now has a 6-4 overall record against the Badgers.
• First semester Lola Schumacher records its first double-digit dig total with 16.
• .153 (51-26-163) marks the two consecutive games this season in which Wisconsin was held to a batting average below .200.
• Graduate Carley Anderson and freshman Maile Chan made their UW debut and came in in the third set.

Next

The Badgers will return to action Monday afternoon when they face Stanford in their second game of the State Farm Volleyball Showcase. First serve is set for 4 p.m. at Fiserv Forum. The game will be broadcast on FOX.