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.
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Dee Lab
Jul 9, 2024
The NWSL’s final pre-Olympic break matches are in the books, but that doesn’t mean club teams won’t get a workout before the league’s August 23rd regular season return.
All 14 squads —minus their Paris-bound teammates — will square off in the first-ever NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup beginning July 19th.
Going up against the NWSL are Mexico’s top six 2023 Liga MX teams: Tigres UANL, Club América, Chivas de Guadalajara, Rayadas de Monterrey, Pachuca, and Tijuana.
All 33 matches will air on CBS Sports platforms, with Seattle Reign FC kicking off the tournament against the Utah Royals at 9 PM ET on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.
How the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup works
The Cup’s 20 teams are split into five groups of four, with each group facing off round-robin style over a total of 30 group stage matches.
Only four of those five teams will advance to the August 6th semifinals. To move on, a club must both win their group and have amassed enough points to be amongst the top four winning teams, eliminating the group stage-winning team with the lowest points.
The two Summer Cup finalists will then have months to prepare for the title-winning match, set for October 25th — one week before the NWSL’s last regular season match weekend.
Interleague cups in the women's game
While interleague contests aren’t new to the women’s game — think UEFA Champions League — they’ve been relatively rare until recently.
The Women’s International Champions Cup, which featured at least one NWSL team alongside two or three international clubs, ran for four years, with its final 2022 edition including the Portland Thorns, Liga MX’s Monterrey, the WSL’s Chelsea FC, and Cup champions Olympique Lyonnais.
The inaugural edition of the W Champions Cup, which kicks off next month, will pit Gotham, the Thorns, and the Wave against eight other Concacaf clubs, all vying for a spot in the newly minted 2026 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.
In the US and abroad, new interleague competitions are continuing to pop up in an effort to meet growing demand — though subsequent injury concerns plague the increasingly packed calendar.
Dee Lab
Jul 9, 2024
With less than three weeks before the Paris Olympics, official women’s basketball rosters are continuing to emerge in what’s shaping up to be an elite 12-nation tournament.
Three teams — China, Puerto Rico, and Serbia —have yet to announce their players, while Nigeria and Germany still have to whittle their provisional lineups down before the Summer Games begin.
Canada, Australia, Spain, and Belgium all recently dropped their 12-player squads, joining previously announced rosters from Tokyo medalists Team USA (gold), Japan (silver), and France (bronze).
Out of the 9 finalized and provisional teams, 27 players representing five countries currently play in the WNBA, with an additional 10 competing in the NCAA.
International Olympic basketball teams to watch
With no less than seven WNBA players, Australia’s Olympic basketball lineup lists the most W stars outside of Team USA.
Led by NY Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, the Opals feature four rookies as well as three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.At 43, the Aussie will become a five-time Olympian this summer after a 12-year hiatus from Olympic competition.
Jackson, who called the final days leading up to the Opals roster drop "the hardest, pressure wise," will be looking to add to her medal collection in Paris —she’s never left the Games without one.
As for Canada, they’re bringing four tough WNBA standouts — Aaliyah Edwards (Mystics), Kia Nurse (Sparks), Laeticia Amihere (Dream), and Bridget Carleton (Lynx) — to Paris.Former Fever and Lynx center Natalie Achonwa also made the roster, becoming Canada’s first four-time Olympic women’s basketball player.
"Knowing this is my last time in that jersey, I want to cherish every second of this journey," Achonwa commented upon making the team.
Stiff Olympic competition for Team USA
Team USA’s path to an eighth-straight gold isn’t a walk in the park, with fellow Group C competitors Japan, Germany, and a strong Belgian side primed to give the States a run for its money.
Belgium made their Olympic debut in Tokyo, yet enter Paris as a serious podium contender behind 2021 WNBA champion and current FIBA EuroBasket MVP Emma Meesseman.
Outside Group C, France arguably poses the biggest Olympic basketball threat to the US. Les Bleues will look to former Sky and Storm forward Gabby Williams — France’s leader in scoring, assists, rebounds, and steals — to help them move up the table.
Meredith Heil
Jul 9, 2024
This week, JWS podcast host Claire Watkins takes the mic to break down a beautiful new rivalry between the Orlando Pride and the Kansas City Current, while taking stock of where every NWSL team has landed going into the league's regular season Olympic break.
Afterwards, she gives the WNBA the same treatment, looking at small shifts that could impact the standings after the Olympic players return from Paris. She sizes up individual performances in the context of the two WNBA All-Star teams while exploring just how prepared both NWSL and WNBA athletes are for the upcoming Olympics and beyond.
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Meredith Heil
Jul 8, 2024
Few high-ranked seeds remain standingas Wimbledon caps off the Round of 16, with theGrand Slam's grass surfaceproving itself a great equalizer.
World No. 1 Iga SwiatekandWorld No. 2 Coco Gauffsuffered upsets in the third and fourth rounds respectively, whileNo. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenkawithdrew from play with a shoulder injury. Both of last year's finalists are also out, with2023 champion Markéta Vondroušováfalling early in the tournament alongside 2023 runner-up Ons Jabeur.
This year's competition has seen impressive performances from several former college athletes — a point of interest in a sport where many skip school in favor of immediately going pro.
Texas alum Lulu Sunupset Emma Raducanuon Sunday, with UVA grad Emma Navarro beating Gauff that same day. Navarro will join Gauff later this month as part of theUS Olympic tennis team, punching her ticket after Madison Keys withdrew from the event.
World No. 4 and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakinais the highest-ranked seed still on the schedule this year. 2024 French Open runner-upJasmine Paolinihas also kept up her run of form, advancing to her first Wimbledon quarterfinal after Sunday's victory over Madison Keys.
