Badgers ‘proud of the fight’ as NCAA loss caps memorable season
December 10, 2016 | Volleyball, Andy Baggot
Extraordinary senior class predicts greater future ahead for Wisconsin volleyball
 |
||
|
BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — It's hard to sing "Varsity" with a broken heart, but Haleigh Nelson gave it her best shot.
As they do after every home match, members of the Wisconsin volleyball team stood side-by-side and sang the traditional school song Saturday night even though their season had just come to a cruel end.
Nelson is one of four seniors whose last match with the Badgers was a five-set loss to Stanford — 25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 21-25, 9-15 — depriving them of a trip to the NCAA national semifinals.
The foursome — Nelson, a middle blocker; middle blocker Tori Blake; setter Lauren Carlini; and outside hitter Romana Kriskova — left the court to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 6,012, but not before the women sang their hearts out.
"I'm just so grateful to have been a part of such an amazing program and played in such an amazing venue like the Field House," Nelson said.
"So while singing 'Varsity' for the last time was after obviously a terrible loss that hurts really bad, I really tried to enjoy it because it was my last time on the court with these people that I love so much.
"So while maybe it seems like it was hard to sing, it wasn't because it's just so special to me to play here and get to do the things like that that make the Field House so special."
The four seniors pushed the envelope of achievement during their college careers, helping Wisconsin win 113 of 137 matches, claim a Big Ten Conference title, earn a No. 1 national ranking for the first time, and advance at least to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament all four years.
But the big picture was hard to bring into focus for the Badgers (28-5 overall) so soon after watching the Cardinal (25-7) scrap back after losing the first two sets.
"It's kind of hard to accept the fact that we just played our last match in a Wisconsin jersey as a part of the Wisconsin program," Carlini said.
"It's hard to be this close to a dream and fall short," UW coach Kelly Sheffield said.
"I think I'm still in denial," Blake said. "At the end of the day, only one team gets to win their last game. That's how it is in the tournament. It wasn't us. It sucks."
These perennial volleyball powers haven't crossed paths much — two previous matches in the last 23 seasons — but they still share some curious history.
Their first meeting took place in Wisconsin.
The Cardinal was the defending NCAA champion in 1993, ranked No. 1, when it came to the Field House and opened the season with a three-set sweep of UW.
Their second encounter also took place in Wisconsin.
The schools met in the Elite Eight at the Resch Center in Green Bay in 2004. One night after the 14th-seeded Badgers upset third-seeded Hawaii in a five-set thriller, they were swept by 11th-seeded Stanford, which went on to win its sixth — and most recent — NCAA title.
More recently, UW and the Cardinal had seven common opponents this season leading up to their encounter on a snowy Saturday in Madison: Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue, San Diego and Washington State.
The most recent meeting in the state came after the Badgers endured a tense five-set duel with Ohio State, but things looked good for them at the outset of the match against Stanford. They controlled the first set and battled back from an early deficit to win the second.
The rhythm changed for good in the third. A lot of it had to do with dynamic senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, a two-time, first-team All-American who finished with 20 kills and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional tournament.
"We obviously had a hard time with Inky," Sheffield said.
There were other factors, too.
"I thought maybe what they did better than anything there coming out of the locker room was they started serving a lot tougher," Sheffield said of the Cardinal. "Put a little more pressure on us. It a little bit more difficult for us to stay in our offense.
"They made a couple nice adjustments and their serving really picked up."
Stanford is one of only two NCAA Division I schools to qualify for all 36 national tournaments going back to 1981.
"There wasn't a whole lot that separated the two teams," Sheffield said.
When the last rendition of Varsity had been sung, UW players began to head to their locker room when Sheffield did something unforgettably classy. He stopped the four seniors and had them return to the court for one last ovation.
In the post-match press conference, Sheffield paused to collect his emotions when asked what the four seniors, all in attendance, meant to him. After all, he came to Madison with them in 2013, inheriting the program from Pete Waite.
"They're why you coach," he said to quiet sobs from his players.
Sheffield lauded Blake and Kriskova for fighting through health issues and bringing positive vibes to the team. He said Nelson, a co-captain, has probably come farther in four years than any player he's had in 16 seasons as a head coach.
Sheffield put Carlini, a three-year captain and the driving force of the program all four years, in a special category. "Lauren's the best," he said of the All-American. "She's the best Badger we've ever had. I hope I'm not offending anybody by that.
"People see the intensity. What they don't know is that she's 10 times the better person than she is a volleyball player." Sheffield said the season was memorable for its many lessons.
"I'm proud of the journey this team took," he said. "I'm proud of how far we've come. Proud of the fight. Proud of the class that they've shown throughout as well."
Already there is talk of next season.
"We have an amazing group of girls," Blake said. "I mean they're coming for it next year. They're coming real hot. You'll see it."
Nelson closed by predicting a national championship —the first for UW — is on the horizon.
"People need to start believing in the Badgers because they're coming," she said.
Asked to put the poignant moment in perspective, Nelson was eloquent.
"I've just loved being a part of this program so much that all I can be is thankful that I've gotten to play with such amazing people and for such amazing people," she said.
"It's such an amazing experience that even though it's come to an end, I've gotten nothing but good things from it.
"There's just a lot of love. There wouldn't be tears if there wasn't so much love," she said.
