Polzin: Flaws exposed in brutal start to Wisconsin season (2024)

MILWAUKEE — Kelly Sheffield forgot what day it was as he sat in the interview room at Fiserv Forum, thinking it was Saturday instead of Sunday.

It’s been that kind of opening week for Sheffield and his University of Wisconsin volleyball program.

The Badgers looked like the No. 3 team in the nation for the first two sets and like a deer in headlights for the final two sets of a 30-28, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 loss to No. 1 Texas in the opener of the College Volleyball Showcase.

It was, as Sheffield put it, “a story of two different matches,” Wisconsin going toe to toe with the two-time defending NCAA champions for the first half of it and getting steamrolled by the Longhorns (1-0) from that point forward.

That loss ended Wisconsin’s season. The good news about this one is that the Badgers have nearly a full season ahead of them. Better to have weaknesses exposed in the first chapter of a season than the final one.

Still, getting humbled by the Longhorns three days after dropping a four-set match at No. 6 Louisville gives the Badgers plenty to think about this early in a new campaign. At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, Sheffield and Co. already have arrived at a look-in-the-mirror moment.

There’s no time to dwell, either, and perhaps that’s a good thing. Wisconsin had about 24 hours to get this one out of its system before taking on No. 5 Stanford at 4 p.m. Monday.

“It’s exciting,” Wisconsin senior Devyn Robinson said. “I’m glad we have another game to get right back into it after a loss. A lot of people are like, ‘We want to play again, we want to play again.’ And we get that opportunity. There’s not much talk to do, just action.”

There’s plenty of blame to go around after a defeat like this. But what seemed clear Sunday — and perhaps was predictable — was that freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer is experiencing some growing pains early in her career.

Fuerbringer was a blue-chip recruit, and there’s every reason to believe she’s going to follow in a line of sensational setters for the Badgers and become an all-time program great in time.

Sheffield loves Fuerbringer’s competitive spirit and how well she keeps her composure. But she’s being thrown to the wolves while still learning to play with her teammates.

More experienced setters than Fuerbringer have struggled — and will struggle — with decision-making and ball placement while trying to put their teammates in the best position to attack this excellent Texas defense. This experience will benefit Fuerbringer in the long run, and the Badgers’ ceiling this season will depend on how well (and quickly) she can adapt to the college game.

Whether this is a Fuerbringer problem, a reflection of how some of her more experienced teammates didn’t respond to the spotlight or a little of both, the Badgers were too one-dimensional against Texas.

Reigning national player of the year Sarah Franklin had 69 total attempts on Sunday. The next closest Wisconsin players were Anna Smrek and Trinity Shadd-Ceres at 23 apiece.

That Franklin accounted for 42.3% of the Badgers’ total swings — she finished with 25 kills while hitting .217 — would indicate too much is being put on her shoulders. Sheffield admitted he’d like more balance in a perfect world.

“Ideally, probably, but when you’re having other people that aren’t scoring, then it is kind of what it is,” he said. “We put a lot on her plate. They were serving about every ball on her and we were setting quite a bit to her.”

Sheffield said he saw some positives from the Badgers in the match, but one concerning aspect was how his team responded to adversity over the second half of the match. Sheffield told his players that they lost those final two sets “between our ears,” an eye-opening statement considering that Wisconsin is loaded with experience.

Sheffield is as curious as anyone how the Badgers will respond to how the season started.

“They are where they are right now and that’s the standard,” he said, referring to Texas. “We’ve got work to do. We want to be in a situation where we are competing for a championship. Right now … what are we going to be when we get pushed?”

Sheffield signed up for this demanding early season slate, knowing the pros and cons of that schedule. Matches like this one, and the one Monday, and the one at Louisville on Tuesday, are great ways to promote a growing sport and provide important data to the coaches still trying to figure out their teams.

That’s the big-picture view. Zoom in closer and you’ll see a team staring in the mirror, trying to figure out how it can avoid a 0-3 start to a season that began with massive expectations.