National champions: Wisconsin volleyball beats Nebraska in 5-set thriller to claim first title (2024)

DENNIS PUNZELFor the State Journal

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A season that began with epic aspirations and expectations concluded with a huddle filled with hugs and tears and, eventually, a shower of gold and silver confetti Saturday night for the University of Wisconsin volleyball team.

The Badgers captured the first national championship in program history with a thrilling five-set victory over Big Ten Conference rival Nebraska 22-25, 31-29, 25-23, 23-25,15-12 in the NCAA final at Nationwide Arena.

The opportunity for such an achievement was a large part of the motivation for the Badgers’ celebrated super senior class — Dana Rettke, Sydney Hilley, Grace Loberg, Lauren Barnes and Giorgia Civita — to return for one last try at making history.

“Epic weekend,” coach Kelly Sheffield said. “So happy for these guys (Rettke, Hilley and Barnes) and the other seniors. They came back for a goal and a dream and had some adversity along the way and were rewarded.”

They realized that dream on the strength of an overpowering blocking performance and some major contributions from the younger generation of Badgers.

Rettke, who Friday was named national Player of the Year, performed like one, especially on the defensive end where she had 13 blocks, to match her career high. The Badgers finished with season-high 24 team blocks, including 10 by sophom*ore Devyn Robinson.

Rettke also finished with 11 kills, fittingly providing the biggest of her career to give the Badgers their coveted championship point.

At the news conference nearly an hour later, she was still trying to process that championship feeling.

“I honestly don’t think it’s set in yet,” Rettke said. “I mean, I kind of imagined, like, dropping to the floor and crying and I kind of just stood there in shock.

“And maybe that’s a testament to just because we have played that moment over and over again in our minds — I think every single one of us. So, I think for now we’re just going to really enjoy this. Soak it all in. Wow, last time wearing a Wisconsin jersey. Just really going to enjoy it. It will sink in in a couple of days.”

The Badgers (31-3) needed that kill after an apparent winning point was overturned on review in which a touch was called on UW, aborting the Badgers’ first mid-court celebration.

While the Badgers got big performances from all of their veteran players, freshman Anna Smrek followed up her dominating 20-kill performance in the semifinal win over Louisville with a team-leading 14 kills and a personal-best seven blocks. That helped her earn Most Outstanding Player honors.

“She didn’t flinch,” Sheffield said. “And she wasn’t the only one that didn’t flinch. For a kid that just turned 18, she was obviously pretty comfortable in the environment, which is really impressive. I thought all our young kids were.”

Sophom*ore Jade Demps also played a major role with 12 kills and a key seven-point service run to start the fifth set.

Nebraska (26-8) was led by Madi Kubik with 16 kills and Kayla Caffey with 15.

The first set was pretty much all Nebraska as the Huskers jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Badgers got back into it for a while with a 5-0 run that included an ace by Giorgia CIvita. But the Huskers later answered with their own 5-0 run to open up a 16-10 lead.

UW managed to get back within two points three times but couldn’t get any closer. The Huskers got to set point at 24-19 before the Badgers put together a 3-0 run. But Lauren Stivrins then finished things off with a kill.

The Huskers again jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set 2, but that was just the start of a very long story. The Badgers were down 13-7 and looked like they could be on the way to a quick exit, but they showed the resilience that has marked their season. A 4-0 run got them back into the set and they finally managed to overtake the Huskers at 21-20 on a kill by Rettke to cap a 3-0 run.

The Huskers rallied and got to set point at 24-23, the first of four set points the Badgers would have to fight off.

The last of those came at 29-28 after a kill by Kubik. That’s when Rettke took things into her own hands with a kill and back-to-back solo blocks to give the Badgers a heart-stressing 31-29 win to even the match.

“That was definitely an epic battle,” Rettke said. “Really good volleyball, so back and forth — kill, kill, block. And then I think we don’t fight through that, if not every single person on our team believes that we can.

“We know we perform well in those moments. We know when the game’s on the line people really step up to the plate, doesn’t matter what position or how old you are. That’s something that’s very special about our team. And that doesn’t happen unless every single person believes we can win that set. And we pulled it out with some clean volleyball.”

The third set was a back-and-forth affair until the Badgers twice managed to open up four-point leads, the last one coming at 21-17. But the Huskers showed their mettle, putting together a 3-0 run to pull even at 23.

This time it was Robinson who put it away for the Badgers with back-to-back kills to give UW a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set followed that same theme with the teams trading points much of the way until Nebraska went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-17 lead. The Huskers got to set point at 24-20 before the Badgers mounted one last rally with a 3-0 run, the last two with Loberg serving, to cut it to 24-23. But Nebraska forced a fifth set with a couple wild defensive plays to set up the decisive kill by Ally Batenhorst.

The Badgers appeared to have taken command of the fifth set when they raced out to leads of 7-0 and 9-2 with Rettke contributing two kills and two blocks to the first eight points. But the Huskers wouldn’t go away without a fight even after UW got to championship point at 14-9. The Huskers reeled off three consecutive points before Rettke finally put an end to things.

While there were plenty of offensive firepower on both sides, it was the defense that stood out for both. The Badgers dominated at the net, but the Huskers kept the ball off the floor with 93 digs. The Badgers also played well in the backcourt, with Barnes picking up a match-high 31 digs.

UW, which finished on an 11-match winning streak, became just the 12th program to win an NCAA title, following another first-time winner, Kentucky, last season.

The Badgers had come up short in their three previous championship matches, falling to Nebraska in 2000, Penn State in 2013 and Stanford in 2019.

The victory denied Nebraska its sixth national title.

“I think the fans got their money’s worth,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “It was a great match with two great teams and not a lot of separation in points like it has been all year. It was a great match. And I told our team that this might be the most proud I’ve been of a Nebraska team.”

But in the end it was UW that got to do the celebrating, and Sheffield made sure to soak in the experience.

“I wanted to take it in,” Sheffield said. “This is about them, this is about the team. And seeing the joy in their faces and the love for each other.”

It also was about those who preceded them, a point he drove home by sharing a big hug with his coaching predecessor, Pete Waite, who was working courtside as the analyst for the radio broadcast.

“This team stands on the shoulders of the alums that have come before them,” Sheffield said. “The example, the hard work. We stand on the shoulders of the coaches that have been here prior to us. We’re uplifted by an incredible fan base that is so passionate and supportive. This is the ultimate team effort.”

Wisconsin 22 31 25 23 15

Nebraska 25 29 23 25 12

WISCONSIN (kills-digs-blocks) — Barnes 0-31-0, Hilley 2-13-5, Civita 0-9-0, Robinson 6-1-10, Ashburn 0-0-0, Smrek 14-0-7, Demps 12-9-0, Rettke 11-0-13, Loberg 10-4-3, Orzol 5-12-6. Totals 60-79-24.

NEBRASKA (kills-digs-blocks) — Hames 0-23-1, Knuckles 1-10-0, Caffey 15-1-4, Akana 0-24-0, Rodriguez 0-13-0, Kubik 19-14-2, Batenhorst 11-0-2, Krause 12-6-5, Stivrins 10-2-5. Totals 68-93-10.

Hitting percentage — W .183, N .141. Aces — W 7 (Ashburn 4), N 4 (Knuckles 2). Assists — W 59 (Hilley 51), N 63 (Himes 56). Att. — 18,755.