Kate Yanchulis
Oct 25, 2022
The No. 5 Wisconsin women’s volleyball team will face off against No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday in the midst of an eight-game winning streak — and an ongoing photo leak investigation.
The University of Wisconsin police department is investigating a leak of private photos and videos of Badgers women’s volleyball players, which were then shared on the internet, the athletic department announced on Oct. 19.
One of the photos appears to have been taken after the team won the Big Ten title last November and shows members of the team posing with their sports bras lifted, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
The athletic department called the leak a “significant and wrongful invasion” of the athletes’ privacy.
Despite the turmoil of the leak and the investigation, the Badgers keep winning. They swept Michigan State at home Friday and beat Michigan 3-1 on the road Sunday, improving to 15-3 overall and 9-1 in Big Ten play.
Still here. 😤 pic.twitter.com/A8a3bTwyMh
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) October 24, 2022
Wisconsin outside hitter Sarah Franklin, who transferred from Michigan State in the offseason, stepped up against her former team. She recorded eight kills and four blocks in the win over the Spartans.
Against Michigan, middle blocker Devyn Robinson led the team with 17 kills. The Wolverines took the first set, but the Badgers won the next three to come away with the win.
“After set one, I felt like we just needed to stay calm and loose and it felt tense in the huddle, but we just had to realize that we have to take a deep breath and get back to our game,” Robinson said after the match.
Next up: a national championship rematch against top-ranked Nebraska (18-1, 10-0) in front of a sold-out crowd at UW Field House at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday. The match will air on Big Ten Network.
The Badgers bested the Cornhuskers in five sets to take their first NCAA title in program history last December. They’ll look to hand the Cornhuskers their first Big Ten loss of the season and extend their winning streak to nine matches.
Women’s sports, straight to your inbox
Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.
Claire Watkins
Aug 6, 2024
The USWNT will shoot their shotat advancing to their first gold medal match since 2012 today, taking on Group B runner-up Germany in first of twoOlympic semifinals.
The US defeated Germany4-1in the second match of the tournament, injecting some fire into what would become the USWNT's mostsuccessfulOlympic group stage run since 2012.
Germany a familiar USWNT tournament foe
Today's matchup will be the first time the US has faced any nation other than Canada in an Olympic semifinal since 2008, but Germany is just as familiar a foe.
This is the fifth time the US has played Germany in a major tournament semifinal — themost between two nationsin both Women's World Cup and Olympic history. The US got past Germany at both the 1991 and 2015 World Cups plus the 2004 Olympics, while Germany got the best of the USWNT at the 2003 World Cup.
Howevern, both teams will enterthe matchwith heavy legs, after each of their quarterfinals went into extra time on Saturday. The US avoided going to penalties thanks to aTrinity Rodman goalagainst Japan in the 107th minute, while Germany managed to advance on penalty kicks after a 0-0 stalemate with Canada.
USWNT Olympic semifinal roster takes shape
Fans might seea fewrefreshed contributorsreturn to the pitch today, after head coach Emma Hayes reported that all USWNT players trained on Monday — despite a few carrying injuries.
On Saturday, forward Jaedyn Shaw made her first appearance on the Olympic gameday 18,but has yet to feature in France due to a lower leg injury. Defender Tierna Davidson has been managing a knee contusion suffered against Germany in the group stage, sitting out clashes with both Australia and Japan. Emily Fox was also seen training without issue after leaving Saturday's quarterfinal with what appeared to be a knee issue.
Elsewhere, midfielder Sam Coffey is back in action after serving aone-game suspensionfor yellow card accumulation.
USWNT should draw on confidence
Olympic rematches can be tricky, but the USWNT should feel confident after orchestrating what so far has been a triumphant Olympic tournament— the best they've seen since the last time they finished atop the podium.
Where to watch USWNT vs. Germany Olympics semifinal match
The USWNT will take the Olympic pitch against Germany at 12 PM ET this afternoon, with live coverage acrossNBC networks.
Claire Watkins
Aug 5, 2024
After a bit of asluggish start,Team USA surged in the final few days of Olympic swimming to hold rival Australia at bay and pick up the most swimming gold medals of any participating country.
The entire US swim team finished with eight overall golds, six of which were earned at least in part by a member of thewomen's team(one gold went to the mixed gender 4x100-meter medley relay).
Meanwhile, Team Australia capped their Olympic run with seven gold medals, though the overall total count swung more firmly in theUS' favorat 28 to 18.
Team USA swimmers shine in imperfect Olympic meet
The meet was by no means perfect for Team USA, but they leave Paris with obvious bright spots and a few broken world records to boot.
Torri Huske emerged Paris's most decorated US women's swimmer. Along with her individual 100-meter butterfly gold, Huske anchored two gold medal relays, and tacked on two silver medals.
After getting the better of Australian standout Ariarne Titmus in the 800-meter freestyle, US icon Katie Ledecky leaved Paris with two individual golds, a solo bronze, and a relay silver. Plus, she became Team USA'smost decoratedOlympic women's sports athlete of all time.
In the end, former NCAA star Katie Douglass rounded out the impressive US trio with a gold in the 200-meter breaststroke to complement her two relay silvers.
Lastly, the final Olympic race gave the US a shining stamp on the Games, as the4x100 medley relayearned a new world record on the way to the team's final gold medal.
McIntosh lays strong Olympic foundation
While the 2024 Gamesmight bebest remembered for the splashy US-Australia rivalry, they'll also live in history as Canadian teenagerSummer McIntosh'sthrilling Olympic debut.
In her first Olympics, the 17-year-old earned three individual gold medals and one silver, already staking her claim as a serious contender for the best all-around swimmer in the world.
Claire Watkins
Aug 5, 2024
The USWNT is guaranteed a shotat an Olympic medal in Paris after defeating Japan 1-0 in extra time in Saturday's epicquarterfinal match. Trinity Rodmannotched the contest's lone goal in the107th minute, with the US ultimately holding on to avoid moving to penalty kicks.
The contest markedthe second-straight matchup where the US found themselves face-to-face with alow block, as Japan packed their defense in a 5-4-1 formation.
While the US dominated possession, they didn't always appear dangerous on the attack, with Japan more than happy to let their opponent pass along the backline. But Japan couldn't manage to be clinical on the counter — and Rodman'sindividual strikesaved the day to break the deadlock.
Extra time prevades Olympic soccer quarterfinals
The USWNT and Japan were not alone in their futile regulation-time efforts, as three of the four Saturday quarterfinals required extra time to decide.
Reigning World Cup champions Spainrallied against Colombia with a two-goal comeback to enter extra time 2-2, eventually advancing on penalty kicks.
Later that afternoon, Canada and Germany battled to a scoreless stalemate after 120 minutes, allowing German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to play penalty kick hero. Berger saved two kicks and converted one herself to send thereigning Olympic championspacking.
With a 1-0 win over France, Brazil was the only team to register a victory inside of regulation play, albeit tacking on over 18 minutes of second-half stoppage time. Due to red card suspension, Brazilian legendMartawill miss the team's semifinal, but will likely cap her international career in the subsequent bronze or gold medal match.
Olympic semis to feature group stage rematches
The semifinals will feature two group stage rematches,as the US takes on Germany and Spain squares off against Brazil.
Elsewhere, the USWNT beatGroup B foe Germany4-1, while Spain took down Brazil 2-0 in Group C. Group A saw all three of its teams eliminated in Saturday's quarterfinal round.
How to watch the USWNT vs. Germany at the Olympics
The USWNT will kick off against Germany on Tuesday at 12 PM ET, with live coverage across NBC networks.
JWS Staff
Aug 5, 2024
On today's Olympics recap episode, host Claire Watkins takes a deep breath after the USWNT’s 1-0 win over Japan in extra time, where mistakes were made, but one brilliant moment from Trinity Rodman put things away.
She discusses some of the negative tactics from both teams that led to a 0-0 draw in regulation, how the US is going to have to get used to fighting against a low block, and ultimately how instilling confidence in a group can carry you a long way.
Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.
