Badger Region and Wisconsin are at the center of the volleyball world — it’s what we do
Thursday, January 13th, 2022
By Brian Sharkey
Badger Region Program Director
Maybe you’ve heard.Wisconsin volleyball is kind of a big deal.
Over the course of the last few months, the Badger State has become the nexus of the volleyball universe.
We’ve earned it, and hopefully we can continue to succeed while the spotlight is still shining on us.
If you’ve been living under a proverbial rock, let’s catch you up:
1. The Wisconsin Badgers won the NCAA Div. 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship Dec. 18.
2. The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds won the NCAA Div. 3 Women’s Volleyball Championship on Nov. 20.
3. The Carthage Firebirds won the NCAA Div. 3 Men’s Volleyball Championship April 24.
4. Milwaukee hosted the boys Third Coast Invitational — a national tournament described as being more competitive than nationals.
5. Pati Rolf, a former Badger Region board member and coach, officiates at the Tokyo Olympics and in the NCAA Div. 1 Women’s National Championship.
6. The Badger Region hosts a coaching clinic Dec. 3-4 in Middleton that attracts clinicians from all over the country with international coaching and playing experience.
Let’s dive into these events and a few more:
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers won their first national championship in program history, and five-time first-team All American Dana Rettke ended her unbelievable career on top, hoisting the trophy over her head, as not only the best player in the nation but on the best team in the nation. The Badgers pulled off the win in a five-set thriller over Nebraska at the NCAA Div. 1 Championship in Columbus, Ohio. Wisconsin also won the Big 10 title earlier in the year with a conference record of 17-3. Sydney Hilley was named Setter of the Year in the conference and Julia Orzol was voted Freshman of the Year. In addition, freshman Anna Smrek was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Assistant coach Brittany Dildine was also named NCAA Div. 1 Assistant Coach of the Year.
UW-Eau Claire Blugolds
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women’s volleyball team competed in the program’s first ever NCAA Division 3 Women’s Volleyball Championship as they faced the Calvin University Knights. After a 2018 semifinals loss to the Knights, the Blugolds got their sweet revenge with a 3-0 sweep over Calvin for the program’s first ever NCAA Division III National Title. The team finished with a 34-3 record and is led head coach Kim Wudi, the a member of the Badger Region Board of Directors. Assistant coach Jodi Risen was also named NCAA Div. 3 Assistant Coach of the Year.
Carthage Firebirds
The Carthage College Firebirds men’s volleyball team under head coach JW Keickhafer (a Badger Region member and High Performance coach) clinched its first-ever national championship for the school. The team went undefeated on the season in route to winning the title in Richmond, Va. A banner-raising ceremony is planned for Feb. 5 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha.
Third Coast Invite
While it wasn’t a USAV/Badger Region event, the AAU Third Coast Invite brought the best boys club teams in the country to Milwaukee the weekend before Thanksgiving. The event allowed the Badger Region to host a clinic for boys with 16 college coaches who represented schools that included Penn State, Ohio State, Pepperdine and Loyola Chicago. The clinic was attended by 160 boys and the tournament truly showcased some amazing athletes, coaches and officials throughout the weekend.
Top official
Pati Rolf is, in her own right, a big deal in volleyball. The Pewaukee resident though hit it big in 2021. She was selected to officiate at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which will be the last chance she has to do so in her officiating career. Rolf, a former Badger Region coach and former board member for the Badger Region, was also chosen to officiate the NCAA Div. 1 Women’s National Championship match between Wisconsin and Nebraska. All this while also holding the position as the nation’s go to ref at USA Volleyball where she serves as the organization’s Director of Officials.
What else?
Brookfield Central High School senior Mckenna Wucherer, who is heading to the University of Minnesota, was named the Best Outside Hitter at the FIVB U18 World Championship in Durango, Mexico, in mid September. She was also named First Team All-American at the 2022 Under Armour All-America Volleyball Game in Orlando Jan. 3, and this week was named Wisconsin High Schools Gatorade Player of the Year.
Carthage College will host the NCAA Div. 3 Men’s Volleyball Championship April 23-24 in Kenosha.
Also this April, the Badger Region and the Art of Coaching will bring an elite cadre of coaches to Milwaukee for a coaching clinic April 23-24 at Marquette University.
Did we also forget to mention that we have the NBA World Champion Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 1-seeded Green Bay Packers and playoff regular Milwaukee Brewers all here in the Badger Region? On Wisconsin!
