Serving up six: Badgers wrap up regular season

#1 Wisconsin

11-0, 11-0 B1G

Michigan

4-7, 4-7 B1G

Game Coverage

Thursday & Friday, April 1 & 2 | 6 p.m. Thursday / 2 p.m. Friday | UW Field House | Madison, Wis.

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Wisconsin Notes | Michigan Notes

MADISON, Wis – No. 1 Wisconsin (11-0, 11-0 B1G) wraps up the regular season this week with two matches against Michigan (4-7, 4-7). First serve on Thursday is at 6 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network. Friday's match starts at 2 p.m. and airs live on ESPNU.

Here are six things we're serving up to you before this weekend's matches.

1. ALMOST TOURNAMENT TIME!: The bracket for the 2020-21 NCAA Championship will be announced on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN. Wisconsin is looking for its 24th overall and eighth-straight NCAA tournament appearance under head coach Kelly Sheffield. The Badgers are 51-23 all time in the tournament and have finished as the NCAA runners up three times – 2000, 2013 and 2019.

2. SHEFFIELD COUNTING DOWN: Head coach Kelly Sheffield is counting down to 200 wins at Wisconsin. The eighth-year head coach is 198-49 with the Badgers and is 471-161 in his 20th season overall.

3. BARNES SETTING BENCHMARKS: Senior Lauren Barnes is counting down to 1,000 career digs, needing 49 saves. The 5-foot-6 libero has 951 digs in her career, including 439 saves at Wisconsin. Barnes has recorded double-figure digs in seven matches this season, including three matches with 20-plus digs. She ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 4.0 digs per set.

4. NOT DROPPING THE (VOLLEY)BALL: Wisconsin is off to a 11-0 start, tying the best opening in program history. The 2010 team also started 11-0. The Badgers have dropped only three sets this season. UW dropped a 25-21 third-set at Illinois on Jan. 30, a 25-21 third set at Michigan State on Feb. 21, and a 25-22 second set at Minnesota on Sunday. Wisconsin is 33-3 in sets this season. The Badgers have also been pushed to extra points in a set only three times.

5. SERVING UP THE BEST: The Badgers recorded a season-high 10 service aces at Minnesota on Sunday with four UW players recording two aces apiece. Wisconsin has recorded more service aces than seven opponents season, ranking second in the Big Ten with 1.72 aces per set. Sophomore Izzy Ashburn ranks second in the conference with 0.51 aces per set while senior Giorgia Civita ranks seventh with 0.38 per set.

6. SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Unranked Michigan is coming into the weekend on a four-match losing streak, but have a lot of strengths despite a 4-7 record. The Wolverines took one set last weekend, falling at home to No. 5 Nebraska, 3-1 and 3-0. As a team, Michigan is hitting .205, putting away 13.56 kills per set. Defensively, Michigan ranks last in the Big Ten with an average 1.52 blocks per set while ranking fifth with 14.22 digs per set.

Two different Wolverines rank in the conference's top 10 for kills. Outside hitter Jess Mruzik, a 6-foot-1 freshman, is a big threat on offense for the Wolverines, ranking No. 7 in the Big Ten for both kills per set with 3.75 and points with 4.24 per set. Junior Paige Jones, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, ranks eighth in the conference with 3.64 kills per set. Hannah Grant, a 5-foot 8 redshirt freshman libero, is averaging 4.13 digs per set, ranking sixth in the Big Ten.