5 Things You Need to Know About Wisconsin Volleyball

Big Blue Nation has plenty of hate in its heart for Wisconsin. The Final Four loss to the Badgers in Indy was ten years ago, but for many, it still feels like yesterday. The Kentucky volleyball team has a chance to get a little postseason revenge on Thursday when the Wildcats take on the Badgers in the National Semifinal.

Before the tilt in Kansas City, allow me to share a few more things you need to know about the team that is standing in the way of a second National Championship for Craig Skinner‘s Kentucky Wildcats.

Craig Skinner is a Former Wisconsin Coach

Long before he donned the blue and white, the Kentucky volleyball coach spent most of his career wearing red. After playing college volleyball at Ball State, he became an assistant for John Cook at Wisconsin. Cook is the Dean Smith of college volleyball. After getting Wisconsin rocking and rolling, he actually beat the Badgers in the National Championship in 2000, his first season at Nebraska. It’s one of four National Championships during his 25-year career at Nebraska, where the volleyball arena bears his name.

Skinner spent five years in Madison, then another five years with Cook at Nebraska, before building a volleyball powerhouse in Lexington.

A 7th Final Four Appearance for Wisconsin

Wisconsin is familiar with the final weekend of the college volleyball season. This is the school’s fifth Final Four appearance over the last seven seasons. They won their first-ever National Championship in 2021, a year after the Wildcats cut down the net.

Sign up for the KSR Newsletter to get breaking news and daily headlines delivered directly to your inbox.

Last Big Ten Team Standing

The Big Ten has long reigned supreme as the top conference in the sport. Over the last 19 years, the Big Ten has won 11 National Championships. Ten of those belong to Nebraska and Penn State, forcing the Badgers to play second fiddle. This year, it’s Wisconsin that’s outlasted its Big Ten rivals.

They May Have Just Won Their Super Bowl

As good as Wisconsin has been over the last five years, one team has prevented the Badgers from achieving a top spot in the sport. During the spring 2021 season, Texas swept Wisconsin in the Final Four. In 2023, the Horns dominated them in a four-set win in the Final Four.

Wisconsin got swept by Texas last season in Milwaukee. This year, their only non-conference loss was to Texas in Madison. The Badgers finally got some vengeance over the program that had plagued them. Playing in a sold-out arena in Austin, Wisconsin jumped Texas early, taking a two-set lead before clinching a Final Four berth with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set to silence the raucous crowd.

“One of the hardest things to do in sports is what you have to do in volleyball,” said head coach Kelly Sheffield. “It’s awesome that we have home environments in this round, but to go on the road and grab a win from a Goliath…the talent they got over there, we knew our players were going to have to stand tall and embrace everything.”

One of Wisconsin’s Best Players is a Kentucky Native

This time a year ago, Kristen Simon helped Assumption win a state championship as the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year. This fall, the Louisville native is wearing the wrong colored jersey as the Wisconsin libero. She’s only a freshman, but Simon is the Badgers’ top defensive specialist. She was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team after averaging 11.4 digs per contest, and had 15 in the Regional Final win over Texas.