2 weeks Ago By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MADISON – Improvement, that is what you hope for at this time of year.The Wisconsin volleyball wrapped up its spring schedule of matches Tuesday, April 22 at the UW Field House with a straight set victory over UW-Green Bay.The 25-21, 25-23, 25-17 victory was a grind as the Badgers struggled with their passing and hitting accuracy, but the final set was their best.
UW hit a match high .375 in the third set and had their highest side-out percentage of the evening (77%).Rising senior Mimi Colyer battled through a tough evening in serve receive and hitting to grind out a match-high 13 kills with a .
207 hitting percentage. Senior middle Carter Booth posted 10 kills and a .643 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Charlie Fuerbringer finished with 35 assists.This was the first spring in the program for 11 of the 12 players on the roster. “There’s a lot of stuff there on film for people to get a plan of attack (for training) and get after it over these next few months,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said.
“I would guess that anyone that watched, including our players, would say there were some really good bright spots. There is definitely some talent out there on the court. Let’s put it all together.
”Here are five takeaways from the match.Charlie Fuerbringer is moving the ball aroundOne noticeable change in the Badgers' offense this spring was the use of the back-row attack. Fuerbringer fed players in that part of the floor often and Colyer, freshmen Una Vajagic and Madison Quest and redshirt sophomore Grace Egan showed the ability to score points from that part of the floor.
Working that part of the floor has been a focus of Fuerbringer, a third-team All-American last season.“I thought Charlie had a great spring," Sheffield said. "I think there is a different presence about her this spring than there was in the fall.
Her knowing when to incorporate the back court has been something that she’s really grabbed on to.”The passing must improveIf there is a point of emphasis for the Badgers between now and the start of preseason practice in August, it is probably on their passing.Colyer and Maile Chan, who played libero for the first two sets, had a tough evening in that regard Tuesday, but it’s an area the Badgers are going to need to improve on across the board in the run up to the season.
“I would say is a work in progress,” Sheffield said. “Many of them are headed in the right direction ..
. They’re going to have to put the work in to be able to trust that part because I think if we’re in system, like any elite team, we’re going to be a handful, especially with Charlie dishing the rock.”Carter Booth gets dialed in at Field HouseSince coming back from the team’s trip to Hawaii, Booth hit .
609 in matches with Marquette and Green Bay. The goal is for her to be one of the anchors of the Badgers’ offense this season“We’ve got to continue to pass the ball so we can get the ball to Carter a lot more,” Sheffield said. “She’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do and she is an absolute force at the next.
I think she is moving better than what she’s ever moved before laterally.”Grace Egan punctuated the night with impressive third setEgan, a transfer from Ohio State, only served during the first two sets. In the final set she played outside hitter and posted six kills and a .
385 hitting percentage. She can really thump the ball.Working the errors out of her game has been a point of emphasis.
Tuesday she had just one error in 13 swings and after that mistake she came back with her best stretch of hitting for the match.“I think she had three kills out of system after that with some really good swings," Sheffield said, "getting the ball in good areas of the court and getting up high and attacking space, which was really fun to see."Una Vajagic shows her versatilityVajagic, a redshirt freshman from Serbia, spent last season rehabbing a knee injury.
Sheffield said she is 85% back to her old self.The 6-0 outside hitter finished with seven kills and hit .188 Tuesday.
She also played the final set at libero.“She’s worked very diligently in getting back and you can see it,” Sheffield said. “There’s some pockets of explosion that are becoming a little more frequent than it was even a month ago, so it’s starting to connect a little bit.
”This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Five takeaways from Wisconsin volleyball's sweep of UW-Green Bay.
