After Nebraska lost on Sunday, and then Minnesota lost on Wednesday, the Wisconsin Badgers are a single victory away from the first #1 AVCA Coaches’ Poll ranking in program history.
The only thing standing in their way is a home matchup against the #24 team in the latest polls, the University of Illinois, on Saturday at 7:30 PM.
That, and a mounting list of injuries.
Wisconsin had two of its key contributors back from injury on Wednesday when they steam-rolled through Rutgers on the road. Freshman Lauren Carlini, one of the top high school prospects in the class of 2016, played well with 31 sets while dealing with a hand injury. That hand injury occurred on the day that Lauryn Gillis returned to practice – Gillis chipped in 8 kills on .471 hitting in Wednesday’s win.
In August, freshman M.E. Dodge almost had a season-ending injury when she suffered a 20% tear of her ACL and a partial tear of the meniscus on her left knee during practice drills, but she too is back in action for the Badgers.
Still missing, however, is sophomore defensive specialist Amber MacDonald, who last week suffered a possible concussion in practice. Head coach Kelly Sheffield said that in the incident, MacDonald took “about the hardest ball I’ve ever seen anybody take to the face.”
And despite it all, there’s just one game between the Badgers and standing as queens of the collegiate castle – a position that has proved precarious with #1 losing twice in the last 4 days.
The Badgers have a tough road ahead – one that includes four-straight games against top 25 opponents:
- #24 Illinois – October 8th
- #1 Minnesota – October 12th
- #23 Michigan – October 15th
- #3 Nebraska – October 21st
But thus is life in the Big Ten. If Wisconsin manages to emerge from that run 9-0 in the Big Ten, they would suddenly become NCAA title favorites. If they lose, but can find a way to get healthy in December, they might wind up with that recognition anyway.
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