Weber State volleyball: Wildcats fight, Wisconsin sweeps in NCAA 2nd round
Weber State's Makayla Sorensen (4) passes the ball as Kate Standifird (6), Ashlyn Power (19) and Dani Nay (12) look on during an NCAA Tournament second round match against Wisconsin on Thursday, April 15, 2021, at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.
Weber State's Dani Nay hits the ball during an NCAA Tournament second round match against Wisconsin on Thursday, April 15, 2021, at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.
The NCAA Tournament is designed to give advantages to the best teams in the country and, by default, disadvantage the teams perceived as less strong or from less competitive or talented conferences.
So Weber State volleyball, having already made history Wednesday night with the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, wasn’t supposed to defeat No. 1 overall seed Wisconsin (14-0) in the second round Thursday night. But the Wildcats are proud of their effort in a 25-17, 25-19, 25-15 loss to the top-rated Badgers in Omaha, Nebraska, that ends WSU’s pandemic-postponed 2020 season at 19-2.
“I’m really happy for our players. We’re pretty happy for the way the season went about and pretty proud of them being able to handle the adversity that was kind of thrown at them through this COVID year and how they, all they did was learn and grow, become better people and better volleyball players,” WSU head coach Jeremiah Larsen said.
“I’m kind of bummed that it’s over but I’m happy that it happened.”
Weber State made several of Wisconsin’s points hard-earned in the first set, jousting on long rallies before falling 25-17. WSU took its first lead in a set in the second frame, which went as deep as 16-16 before the Badgers used its size and crisp digging and passing to take over.
“I thought we competed well from start to finish. I thought we gave a really great effort,” said senior setter Ashlyn Power, who was playing in her home state. “I thought we executed a lot of the stuff we wanted to do. A team like Wisconsin makes it tough to execute … but I thought we did a good job controlling what we could control and just playing as hard as we can.”
Going into the tournament, Power said the team reflected on the experiences of the past several seasons and the path to get to this point: from 2016 until now, WSU tallied conference records of 5-11 7-9, 13-5 and now 15-1.
“It wouldn’t be possible without everyone who’s come before me,” Power said. “So even people that aren’t here anymore that don’t get to experience this, they’ve put in so much work and effort to make the program what it is so that I can be here with this team having this opportunity. So I’m super grateful.”
Weber State tallied its best regular-season conference record in program history at 15-1, leading to its first-ever outright regular-season championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988 with a conference tournament title.
Simply put, it’s easily the best season in Weber State volleyball history. The uniqueness of the pandemic’s impact on college sports might make its end less bitter than usual, too: the 2020-21 season does not count against athletes’ eligibility in any sport, and WSU’s senior trio of Power, Big Sky MVP Rylin Adams and talented middle blocker Sam Schiess are all returning for a fall 2021 season that should play out more normally than this one.
“It’s important to be proud of what we’ve done this season and enjoy it in this moment right now. But I also think it’s great motivation for us going forward that we get to go right into the offseason and get right back to work on getting better,” Power said. “The fact that we get another opportunity to play together with all my best friends and keep getting better is super special … (I’m) ready to go get better and be back here again next year.”