JWS Staff
Nov 29, 2022
Defending champion Wisconsin volleyball ended its regular season on an 18-match winning streak.
The Badgers have not lost since Sept. 25, even as the team endured a tough Big Ten schedule and the turmoil of a photo leak investigation, and now they enter the NCAA tournament with a 25-3 overall record and the No. 1 seed.
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) November 28, 2022𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙊𝙢𝙖𝙝𝙖 begins now.
Badgers earn the No. 1 Seed in the Top Right Region. pic.twitter.com/BPSfSPSNHc
The University of Wisconsin athletic department announced on Oct. 19 the investigation into a a leak of private photos and videos of Badgers women’s volleyball players, which were then shared on the internet.
At least 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. Yet even after the off-court issue, which highlighted the vulnerable position of college athletes, the Badgers continued to roll.
Wisconsin finished its conference season Saturday with a 3-1 win against Ohio State, clinching a 19-1 conference record and theBig Ten title. The only loss came on Sept. 25 against Minnesota.
“There was so much learning that came from our one loss against Minnesota,” coach Kelly Sheffield said. “That was really important for where we are right now. There was so much opportunity for us to learn throughout the course of the year and I am so proud of them.”
The 18-match winning streak is tied for the second-longest winning streak in program history. The 19-1 conference record is tied for the best conference record in program history.
Wisconsin already has sold out all-session tickets to its first- and second-round matches in the NCAA tournament. The Badgers will start their quest for a repeat title at 8 p.m. ET Friday against Quinnipiac.
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JWS Staff
Sep 3, 2024
In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire checks in on the big picture for both the NWSL and WNBA playoff races as title contenders emerge, playoff spoilers make their cases, and some teams begin to plateau at an inopportune time.
Then, she chats with NWSLPA President Tori Huster about the league’s landmark CBA, and how concerns about parity might be overstated.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.
Dee Lab
Sep 3, 2024
Spanning 72 teams from 50 European leagues,the deepestChampions Leaguetournament in UEFA history starts tomorrow with clubs from theUKto Georgia eyeing Lisbon's late-May final.
Four teams gained automatic entry to October's 16-team group stage — defending UEFA champsFC Barcelonaand runners-upLyon,plus top German finishers FC Bayern and WSL title-holdersChelsea— with this month's qualifiers determining the remaining 12.
The road to the Champions League group stage
There are two qualifying rounds played concurrently between two sets of teams: Thechampions pathmatches up winners from each non-automatically qualified league, while theleague pathdoes the same with second- and third-place finishers.
Each path opens with a series of four-team, single-elimination mini-tournaments, in which 59 clubs will enter Wednesday's semifinals with just 15 moving on from Saturday's finals.
Those 15 will join runners-up from top leagues France, Germany, Spain, England, Italy, and Sweden for Round 2 later this month, all vying for a spot in group stage play.
Top European clubs battle for Champions League glory
Set to square off against Denmark's FC Nordsjælland tomorrow, Portuguese powerhouse SL Benficahas made the group stage every year since the 2021-22 season.
WSL favoritesArsenalsaw their 16-season UWCL quarterfinal streak snapped by Paris FC last year, so they'll be hungry for redemption when they face Scotland’s Rangers FC tomorrow. If victorious, they'll be set to face the winner of tomorrow's match between 2024 Women's Cuprunners-up Atlético de Madrid and Norway's Rosenborg on Saturday.
Also brewing tomorrow is a battle of the underdogs between Finnish side KuPS Kuopio and Scottish third-place finishers Celtic.
How to watch UEFA Champions League matches
Champions League action kicks off tomorrow at 5 AM ET, with live streaming coverage exclusively onDAZN.
Dee Lab
Sep 3, 2024
NWSL chaos reigned supremethis weekend, aslower-table teamswalked away victorious in five out of seven matches.
Even Sunday’s 1-1 draw between second-placeWashingtonand 12th-place San Diego was a lopsided affair, as Wave defender Kristen McNabb received credit for both goals.
The only expected result was Orlando’s 2-0 win over fourth-place Gotham on Sunday. With the victory, the Pride remains atop the standings while extending theirrecord winning streakto 19.
Courage adds to Kansas City's loss count
On a streak of their own,now-fifth-place North Carolina added an 18th match to their home unbeaten stretch — one that dates back to2023— with Sunday’s 2-1 win over third-place Kansas City. The loss is KC’s third in a row, a marked departure after goingundefeatedthrough their first 15 games.
The Current's goal was unsurprisingly notched byGolden Boot race-leaderTemwa Chawinga, who now sits two goals ahead of Orlando’s Barbra Banda with 14 on the season — four shy of tying ex-NWSL starSam Kerr’ssingle-season record.
Mid-table movement heats up NWSL playoff race
This weekend’s upsets shook the mid-table, proving that securing a playoff berth won't be an easy task.
On Friday, Bay FC beat Portland 3-1, lifting the now-eighth-place expansion team over the postseason cutoff line while stalling the sixth-place Thorns at 27 points for the third straight week.
Extending their unbeaten streak to six matches, 11th-place Seattle defeated a restructuredLouisville3-2 on Saturday. Then on Sunday, strikerSydney Leroux’sstoppage-time winner delivered ninth-place Angel City a 2-1 win over Chicago.
With just eight regular-season matches to go, a slim four points now separate the seventh-place Red Stars from 10th-place Louisville.
Claire Watkins
Aug 30, 2024
This weekend's WNBA actionwill dip into therace for the playoffs, as nine teams vie for just five remaining postseason spots.
New York, Minnesota, andConnecticuthave all clinched their playoff berths, but the drive to finish above the postseason line hasn't subsided in theleague standings.
Fever vs. Sky game is the WNBA's hottest ticket
All eyes will be ontonight's matchupbetween the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever, as the two teams go head-to-head for thefourth and final timethis season.
Indiana currently sits in seventh place with Chicago following in eighth — the table's lowest playoff-bound position. Recent results, however, have separated the two teams by a marked distance, as theFeverhave won four of their last five games while thestruggling Skyhave gone one for six.
Regardless of who wins, the game will go down in front of what's sure to be a packed house, with ticket resale prices averaging in thehigh-$800s.
Clark, Reese square off in WNBA Rookie of the Year showdown
Tonight's lineup will also featurethe final game between the twoRookie of the Year frontrunners: Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Chicago's Angel Reese, who are both trying to push their squads over the finish line.
Clark leads the league in assists and has already broken the record forthree-pointers madein a rookie season, while Reese — the current league-leader in rebounds — recently tied Tina Charles's rookiedouble-double recordwith 22.
While both have excelled in different areas, the Indiana rookie has the edge over her rival in points per game, with Clark's 18.0 average eclipsing Reese's 13.3.
Other noteworthy WNBA weekend matchups
First-place New York and fifth-place Las Vegas will look to move past their surprise upsets this week in their Friday night games against fourth-place Seattle and ninth-placeAtlanta, respectively.
After falling to the Fever on Wednesday, the third-placeConnecticut Sunwill aim to regain composure against a momentum-fueled Mystics team on a three-game winning streak — their longest this season.
