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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JWS Staff
Jun 25, 2024
Reigning Olympic Track & Field champion Athing Mu will not have the opportunity to defend her 800-meter title in Paris after falling during the event's final on Monday.
About 200 meters into the race, Mu uncharacteristically got tangled up in the middle of the track and lost her footing. Coming to her defense, her coach Bobby Kersee said that she had been spiked, suffered track burns, and hurt her ankle. The 22-year-old filed an appeal that saw USA Track and Field officials sorting through replays, but it was later denied.
As a result, Mu did not qualify to run the 800-meter at the 2024 Summer Games, as the US has a standing rule that only the top three Trials finishers make the official Olympic-bound roster.
At her first-ever Olympics in 2021, Mu took home the gold at the 800-meter final, crossing the line in 1:55.21 to break the American record.
"I’ve coached it, I’ve preached it, I’ve watched it," Kersee told The Associated Press after Mu's appeal was rejected. "And here’s another indication that regardless of how good we are, we can leave some better athletes home than other countries have. It’s part of our American way."
Mu finished more than 22 seconds behind eventual winner Nia Akins, but could still make the Olympic team as part of the US relay pool. Mu was a key part of the Team USA's 4x400-meter gold medal win three years ago in Tokyo.
Emma Hruby
Jun 25, 2024
Dearica Hamby has been named to USA Basketball's official 3×3 Olympic roster, replacing an injured Cameron Brink.
The Los Angeles Sparks forward has extensive experience with the 3×3 team, including taking home both a gold medal and MVP honors at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup.
Brink originally made the roster in early June, but suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Los Angeles’s June 18th loss to Connecticut.
"It is an honor to announce Dearica Hamby's addition to the USA 3×3 women's national team and we look forward to getting to work as a squad very soon," USA Basketball 3×3 national team director Jay Demings said in a statement. "USA Basketball continues to keep Cameron Brink in our thoughts as she focuses on her recovery."
Hamby will join 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup champions Hailey Van Lith (TCU), CIerra Burdick, and Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) in Paris.
Emma Hruby
Jun 25, 2024
San Diego Wave FC announced on Monday that the organization has parted ways with head coach Casey Stoney.
The announcement comes amid a seven-game winless streak for the Wave. Stoney joined San Diego from WSL side Manchester United a few months before their inaugural season, winning the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year Award that same year. She went on to lead the expansion team to two trophies in three years.
Just this past January, the club agreed to a multi-year contract extension that kept Stoney with the club through 2027, with a mutual option for 2028.
Despite their prior success, San Diego currently sits ninth in the NWSL standings, one point out of playoff contention. Their last win came on May 8th, having most recently played to a scoreless draw against Houston over the weekend to cap off a three-game road trip.
"We are immensely grateful to Casey for her commitment to our club and the positive impact she has had both on and off the pitch,” Wave president and former USWNT managerJill Ellissaid in an official team statement. "Over the past seasons, Casey has guided us to significant milestones, and her contributions have been instrumental in laying a strong foundation on which to build.
"The decision to part ways was very hard and not made in haste, but given the ambition of this club, and where we are in our season, we felt a change was necessary at this time."
The staffing change comes a little less than two weeks after the Wave brought on former Kansas City Current general manager Camille Ashton. Ashton resigned from her position with Kansas City in May of this year.
On Tuesday, Ellis commented that Stoney is "self aware" and called her a "complete professional."
"I don’t think you have to have a conversation when it comes to know where they are, she knew,” she said. “I think Casey knew results matter. Casey’s ambitious. And was she happy with where we were? Of course not.
"I think a coach also understands that sometimes this is the nature of the beast of coaching. It’s tough and hard at times."
Emma Hruby
Jun 24, 2024
Pride star Barbra Banda continued on her historic NWSL trajectory this weekend, scoring twice in Orlando’s 6-0 win over Utah on Friday.
She’s the first NWSL player to register 10 goals in their first 10 league appearances. It was also her fourth brace this season, and marked her first goals in two games after her first multi-game scoring drought.
"For me when I have an opportunity and a chance, I have to take it wisely," Banda said in her postgame remarks. "When I get a chance, I have to put the ball in the back of the net. If any game I didn’t score, I just have to go to my drawing board and work hard so that in the next game so I can find a goal."
Meanwhile, Kansas City also kept up their winning ways, beating Portland 4-1 behind a brace from midfielder Lo'eau Labonta on Sunday.
Later that day, the Washington Spirit, who sit just a point behind KC in third place, topped fourth-place Gotham FC in a decisive 2-0 victory.
And after drawing with Seattle, eighth-place Louisville has 16 points on the season — representing a growing gap between the league’s top and bottom teams. Bringing up the bottom of the ladder, both Seattle and Utah have yet to surpass 10 points this year.
