No. 6 Wisconsin bagged another sweep, taking down Maryland 25-18, 25-23, 25-18, marking their sixth straight sweep against the Terrapins. But let’s be real, even with Decelise Champion dropping a team-high 17 kills on a ridiculous .552 hitting percentage, this win wasn’t exactly drawn up perfectly. That second set was a nail-biter, coming way too close for comfort against an unranked Big Ten opponent.
Champion Stepped Up When It Mattered Most
Decelise Champion absolutely went off tonight, reminding everyone why she’s a legit force. She hit a blistering .552, which is her best hitting percentage in any match with at least 10 attack attempts, and she did it while handling a huge volume, getting 29 attack attempts, eight more than any other Badger. The dude already had 11 or more kills in four of UW’s first six Big Ten matches, but this was a masterclass in efficiency, falling just three kills shy of her season-high.
Coach Kelly Sheffield was clearly stoked on her performance. He said, “She was working the court. She wasn’t just hitting one shot or two shots. She worked the entire court. She worked different depths of the court.” He also highlighted how smart her play was, adding, “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.”
Champion was the rock when things got shaky. Remember that second set where the Badgers somehow fell into a 22-19 hole? Champion was a constant, smashing seven of UW’s 15 kills in that set. She started their epic 6-1 run to snatch the set back, kicking it off with her sixth kill before stepping to the service line and rattling off four consecutive points herself. And get this, she did all that while fellow freshman standout Audrey Flanagan was on the sidelines for the entire match. Sheffield confirmed it “wasn’t anything more” than a night off for Flanagan, with Halle Thompson stepping in for seven kills, three blocks, and a .211 hitting percentage. Champion just took the reins and ran with it.
That Third Set Defense Was Fire, But What About Earlier?
While Champion was a beast, the team’s defensive effort earlier in the game definitely had some head-scratching moments. Maryland hit a solid .194 in the first set and then bumped it up to .250 in the second. That’s not terrible, but for a No. 6 team, you want to see that locked down earlier. It really highlights why that second set got so tight, with Maryland bagging 23 points, their closest to taking a set from the Badgers since 2021. Even Charlie Fuerbringer’s early ace, which bizarrely bounced off the tape and over, felt symbolic of the team finding a way to get it done when things weren’t exactly ideal.
But man, did they flip a switch in the third set! Maryland’s hitting percentage plummeted to a mere .048. They had as many attack errors in that third set as they did in the first two combined. Five of those nine errors were straight-up Wisconsin blocks, and the Badgers tallied 18 digs in the set. That’s the defense we know this team can play! Coach Sheffield acknowledged the slow start on that side of the ball, admitting, “It took us a little bit too long to kind of get into our game plan defensively, I thought. But I thought we were awfully good in that area in the third set.”
So yeah, a sweep is a sweep, and you always take it. But while Decelise Champion absolutely went off and the defense locked it down late, those rocky moments in the second set against an unranked opponent are definitely something to chew on. This team showed they can dig deep and rally when things get tight, which is huge, but they gotta bring that full-game focus from the jump. Still, six straight sweeps against Maryland? That’s a statement, and Champion is clearly playing at another level.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply