UW maintained their momentum from their First Round battle right away in set one, putting together a 15-9 advantage with a potent attack on the offensive end. 

The Badgers (26-4) were able to close out the first frame behind a 4-0 run, highlighted by a pair of kills turned in by outside hitter Mimi Colyer. Setter Charlie Fuerbringer was able to cap it off with a kill of her own, tallying eight between the pair of matches this weekend. 

After a back-and-forth affair to begin the second set, Wisconsin found some separation by winning four-of-five rallies to build a 12-7 lead. The Tar Heels provided a quick response to bring it within 18-17 with the help of their physical block. 

Outside hitter Una Vajagic and right side Grace Egan each racked up a kill to force a North Carolina (22-9) timeout. Egan wrapped up the set two with another kill, as the Badgers went on to win three of the four last points. 

Wisconsin and the Tar Heels continued to trade points throughout the majority of the third set, which saw 19 ties and 10 lead changes. Colyer accumulated her 20th kill of the match in the process—giving UW a narrow 14-13 lead at the midway point of the set. 

Vajagic recorded six kills in the set, providing a spark on the offensive side of the ball. The redshirt sophomore continued to excel for the Badgers, concluding the match with 12 kills on a .435 hitting percentage. 

Late in the set, North Carolina fought back to force extra points by winning three-straight points. Outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres and libero Maile Chan entered late and made an instant impact, highlighted by a block from Shadd-Ceres and a pair of digs turned in by Chan. UW made one final push to officially advance in the NCAA Tournament, led by a resilient effort on the defensive end—converting on a trio of kills to wrap up the match. 

Colyer, in her final match at the UW Field House, ended a lengthy rally with a kill to seal the victory. The senior finished with 22 on the evening, the 11th time this year where she has accumulated 20 or more. The five-time Big Ten Player of the Week also earned her eighth double-double of the season, adding 13 digs. 

Egan joined Colyer in the double-double department, emerging as a staple on the defensive end with 11 digs, complemented by her 11 kills. Libero Kristen Simon put together another standout showing defensively as well, totaling a team-high 16 digs. The freshman added eight assists to wrap up a strong week of play in her NCAA Tournament debut. 

On the front line, Fuerbringer led the way with 43 assists—powering the Badgers to a hitting percentage of .365 (60 – 14 – 126) against one of the strongest blocks in the country. 

Middle blocker Carter Booth was one of the beneficiaries, turning in her third-straight errorless match with eight kills on 16 attempts. After tonight’s performance, Booth will enter Texas swinging .540 (27 – 0 – 50) in her past three matches. 

SADDLE UP! 🤠

The Badgers are MOVING ON to the Lone Star State!!#OnWisconsin || @UWHealth pic.twitter.com/RYGsPNi4KZ

— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) December 6, 2025

Straight from the Court

Notes:

• With the 3-0 sweep over North Carolina, Wisconsin will advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinals for the 23rd time in program history and 13th-consecutive season under head coach Kelly Sheffield.
• The victory also moves Wisconsin to 72-29 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and 21-5 in the Second Round of the tournament.
• The Badgers had three players with double-figure digs, Kristen Simon (16), Mimi Colyer (13), and Grace Egan (11).
• Senior Mimi Colyer recorded her eighth double-double of the season and 44th of her career with a 22 kill, 13 dig performance.
• Right Grace Egan totaled her fourth double-double of the season, eighth of her career with an 11 kill, 11 dig performance.
• Wisconsin also had three players with double-figure kills, Colyer
• Wisconsin totaled 56 digs, tying a season-high for most digs in a three-set match.
• With 57 assists, Wisconsin totaled it’s second-highest assist mark for the season in a three-set match.
• For the 16th consecutive match, Colyer totaled double-figure kills at 23, and her 11th match with 20 or more kills this season. She also tied Ellen Chapman (2013) in program history for most consecutive matches with double-figure kills.
• In consecutive nights, senior Carter Booth recorded another error-less match. She tallied eight kills on 16 swings for a .500 hitting percentage.

Up Next: The Badgers will await their next opponent in the Regional Semifinals down in Austin, Texas. The date and time for the match is still to be determined.

“They showed up every day and just kept grinding,” said head coach Matt Ulmer. “They never stopped believing in what we were talking about. Our staff has talked a lot about the amazing additions to this group, and I think they complement the returners really well. This is when you want to be playing your best volleyball, and I think that was the best we’ve played. It’s not always going to be pretty against a great team; they’re going to push you and force the issue, but I’m just really, really happy for them. And I really appreciate everyone who was here and everyone who’s been with us to help us get to this point.”

The Jayhawks were led by 15 kills by senior Rhian Swanson, marking her 19th game with 10 more kills this season, while also surpassing 500 career kills. Senior Katie Dalton added 39 assists and set a career-high 7 blocks in the win. 

Both teams traded points early in the opening set as the teams were knotted at 5-5, until Kansas was able to pull ahead first at 8-5 behind three kills from sophomore Reese Ptacek and Swanson. Kansas would rally to five straight points to force Miami’s first timeout at 10-5. 

Midway through the first set, Kansas continued its momentum to take a 15-9 lead behind a kill from junior Aisha Aiono on an assist from Dalton. Miami would draw to within three points at 16-13, before Kansas would rally for three straight points, including a service ace from freshman Selena Leban to give Kansas a 19-13 advantage before a Miami timeout.

Kansas would find its largest lead of the first set at 23-15 and the Jayhawks would capture the first set, 25-17.

Much like the opening set, both teams went back-and-forth to open the second set with both teams knotted at 6-6. The Jayhawks would pull ahead at 8-6 following a block by Ptacek and Dalton, before Miami would rally for three straight points to pull ahead at 9-8. A long rally that ended with an Aiono and Dalton gave Kansas a two point advantage at 11-9.

Miami would bounce back with four straight points to force a Kansas timeout at 13-13. Following the timeout, both teams traded points until Kansas gained a three point lead at 20-17 following a block by Ptacek and Dalton. Leban would bring it to 21-17 with a kill, forcing a Hurricane timeout.

Following the timeout, Miami would rally for four straight points to tie the score at 21-21. Kansas responded with three straight points to take it to set point at 24-21, before Kansas secured the second set at 25-22.

Miami found the early advantage in the third set, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Kansas pulled the margin to within two at 10-8, before Miami would extend its lead to 13-8, forcing a Jayhawk timeout. Out of the break, Kansas brought the score to within a point at 18-17 following a Swanson kill on an assist from Dalton. 

After Miami took a 22-19 lead, Kansas powered back with back-to-back kills from Leban and Ptacek to force a Miami timeout at 22-21. Miami would bounce back from the timeout and win its first set, 25-22. 

With Kansas leading the match 2-1, Miami jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in set four. Kansas wasted no time marching back, retaking the lead at 6-5 from three straight kills. The Jayhawks carried their momentum to take a 13-9 lead midway through the fourth set on a service ace from Ptacek. Miami would take a timeout following a block from Swanson and Aiono to make the score 14-9.

Miami responded after the break by tying the score at 17 all to force a Kansas timeout. Both teams traded the next two points, before Kansas pulled ahead at 20-18 on a service ace from Leban. Both teams battled back-and-forth with Kansas leading at 23-21, before Miami got two straight points to tie the fourth set at 23-23. Knotted at 25-25, Kansas regained the lead at 26-25 following an attack error by the Hurricanes. Kansas secured the win at 27-25 with a kill by Leban on the assist from Dalton.

Up Next

Kansas will advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 and will take on the winner of Nebraska vs. Kansas State.