Wisconsin volleyball defeats Louisville, advances to National Championship

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Wisconsin volleyball is headed to the National Championship!

No. 4 Wisconsin beat No. 1 Louisville 3-2 in Columbus, Ohio Thursday to advance to the National Championship game.

Wisconsin won the first, third and fifth set(25-23, 25-21, and 15-9, respectively). Louisville won the second and fourth set, forcing the two teams to race to 15 in the fifth and final set. This was Louisville’s first loss of the season.

The Badgers’ loss in the second set was their first loss of a set during the NCAA tournament.

Wisconsin will go on to play the winner of the Nebraska vs Pittsburgh match.

This was the Badgers’ third straight trip to the final four and they have a history of success against number one seeds. In 2019, Wisconsin took down No. 1 Baylor. In 2013, they knocked off No. 1 Texas.

“You know this is something you kind of shoot for is trying to make it to a Final Four and to be able to do that with this group, the players that we’ve had here it’s special it’s fun,” said head coach Kelly Sheffield.

The Badgers won a slew of awards Wednesday, with middle blocker Dana Rettke becoming the first ever five-time All-American. Joining her as a first-team All American is setter Sydney Hilley, who in addition, earned the senior class award which goes to the most outstanding D1 volleyball player. However, Hilley has her eye on the National Championship win.

“Kinda like an unsaid goal, everyone that comes to Wisconsin, that’s one of the reasons they come here is to make history and win a national championship and I think most of the time it’s in the back of our heads when we go into the gym and it’s our why this is why we work so hard,” Hilley said.

The national championship will air on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. this Saturday.

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