MADISON – One of Charlie Fuerbringer’s early serves hit the tape at the top of the net, seemingly hung there for the longest millisecond and rolled over onto the Maryland side for an ace.
It was somewhat symbolic as No. 6 Wisconsin swept Maryland, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18, in a match where the Badgers finished with ideal results despite some moments that were not exactly how they would ideally draw it up.
The Oct. 16 win at the UW Field House was Wisconsin’s sixth consecutive sweep against Maryland although the Terrapins’ 23 points in the second set were the closest they’ve been to taking a set against the Badgers since 2021.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Decelise Champion performs at high level as Audrey Flanagan gets night off
Decelise Champion went into the Maryland match with 11 or more kills in four of UW’s first six Big Ten matches. Then against UW’s first unranked Big Ten foe, Champion was especially efficient while handling a high volume as well.
Champion once again shined, finishing with a team-high 17 kills while hitting .552. She was three kills short of tying her season-high, and her hitting percentage was better than any other match with at least 10 attack attempts.
“She was working the court,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “She wasn’t just hitting one shot or two shots. She worked the entire court. She worked different depths of the court.”
Champion had 29 attack attempts – eight more than any other Badger – and showed both her trademark arm power and finesse with some other swings.
“Charlie was putting her in a lot of different situations, and when the ball wasn’t there in her wheelhouse, she was being smart of where she was attacking,” Sheffield said.
When the Badgers struggled at times in the second set – even falling into a 22-19 deficit – Champion was a constant. She had seven of UW’s 15 kills in the second set and was at the heart of the Badgers’ 6-1 run to come back and take the set.
Champion’s sixth kill of the set started the run, and then she was behind the service line as UW rattled off another four consecutive points.
Champion led the Badgers while fellow freshman standout Audrey Flanagan was on the sidelines for the entire match. Sheffield said after the match it “wasn’t anything more” than simply giving Flanagan a night off.
Halle Thompson started in place of Flanagan and finished with seven kills, three blocks and a .211 hitting percentage.
Wisconsin’s defense improves in third set
After Maryland hit .194 in the first set and .250 in the second set – nothing out of the ordinary for a team that’s been hitting .216 against Big Ten foes – the Terrapins hit a mere .048 against the Badgers in the third set.
Maryland had as many attack errors in the third set as in the first and second sets combined. Five of those nine attack errors were via Wisconsin blocks. The Badgers also had 18 digs in the set as they showed notable improvement with their first contact.
“It took us a little bit too long to kind of get into our game plan defensively, I thought,” Sheffield said. “But I thought we were awfully good in that area in the third set.”
Service line does not make matters any easier for Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s issues behind the service line were among the factors that allowed Maryland to be more competitive for stretches of the match than one might have expected.
The Badgers committed 11 service errors and had only two aces. (One of the two was Fuerbringer’s aforementioned serve that rolled over the tape.) Six of the 11 service errors came in the close-for-comfort second set.
“I would say that our serving coach is very disappointed right now because I just got an earful before I walked up here,” Sheffield said. “These guys have been working really, really hard on their serves, and he would say that they did not execute the way that they’re capable of.”
The only players with multiple serve attempts and fewer than two service errors were libero Anna Bardaro and opposite hitter Decelise Champion. (They coincidentally were the two international players who saw the court against Maryland.)
“I thought our non-Americans were very, very good behind the service line, and the rest let our country down tonight,” Sheffield said with his usual wit.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Decelise Champion's 17 kills highlight Wisconsin's sweep vs Maryland