Working in freshmen to star lineup, Badger Volleyball regains footing after rough start

The powerhouse Wisconsin volleyball program has stumbled early against top competition, but signs suggest the team is turning a corner.

By Nathan Denzin, BADGER STRIPES

Starting the 2024 season 0-3 was not what fans of No. 8-ranked Wisconsin volleyball — now 4-3 overall — expected after climbing to the NCAA tournament semifinals last year.

The Badgers had a tough draw for their first match of the season against No. 6 Louisville, losing in four sets. Then it got even more difficult with matches against No. 1 Texas, who knocked the Badgers out of the NCAA tournament last year, and No. 5 Stanford. Wisconsin fell to both in four sets.

But since those matches, Wisconsin has corrected course and ripped off four straight wins against then No. 25-ranked TCU, No. 18 Baylor, UW-Milwaukee and Marquette last night. Not quite the same quality, but four solid teams nonetheless.

The wins are an undoubtedly positive sign as the Badgers work three new youngsters into the mix.

Stalwarts of the team for the past few years, MJ Hammill, Izzy Ashburn and Temi Thomas-Ailara, departed after last season.

Lola Schumacher serves against Marquette during the match at the Kohl Center on Sep. 17, 2024. (Credit: Ben Donahue/Badger Stripes)

Their places were filled by a trio of freshmen: the 5’11” setter Charlie Fuerbringer, the 5’5″ libero and defensive specialist Lola Schumacher, and the 5’8″ libero Saige Damrow.

It’s taken all three some time to find their footing. Fuerbringer, of Hermosa Beach, California, and Schumacher, of Carmel, Indiana, are true freshmen and brand new to the college game. Damrow, an in-state player from Howards Grove near Sheboygan, is a redshirt freshman who didn’t see the court much in 2023 after suffering a knee injury.

Up until the match against Marquette, Fuerbringer and Schumacher had played in all of Wisconsin’s sets, lining up with veteran stars Sarah Franklin, Devyn Robinson, Gülce Güçtekin and Julia Orzol.

Fuerbringer was in a walking boot against Marquette and was forced to sit out, but the young setter has lit up opponents when she’s been healthy.

In Wisconsin’s first six games, they tallied 305 assists. Fuerbringer is responsible for 253 of those.

That is not a typo.

**From left, Lola Schumacher, Carly Anderson, Julia Orzol and Carter Booth celebrate a point. (Credit: Ben Donahue/Badger Stripes)**

It is nearly 83% of all the team’s assists. Before sitting out against Marquette, she had the 13th-most assists of any player in the country, averaging just over 10 assists per set, and also leads the team with a .424 hitting percentage. It’s not completely out of the ordinary for a setter to rack up that many assists for her team, but for a new freshman, head coach Kelly Sheffield has been impressed.

“These are some pretty big stages against some pretty big teams,” Sheffield said after the loss to Stanford. “I think Charlie [Fuerbringer] has gotten better each set or each match.”

Along with the freshmen, reigning player of the year Franklin has continued to be a dominant force everywhere on the court. The 6’4″ outside hitter leads the Badgers in points and kills early in the season.

If Wisconsin wants to make the Final Four again, they’ll have to keep positive momentum. But it won’t be easy. The tough Big Ten has become even more brutal, now that Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA have joined.

Almost half of the Badgers’ remaining matches this season are against ranked opponents, including Penn State, Purdue, Oregon and two against Nebraska, all of whom are ranked in the top 12.

UP NEXT: Wisconsin plays Troy University on Friday and Texas A&M on Saturday — both at 7 p.m. at the UW Field House.