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 25, 2024
In just its second Olympics as an official sport,skateboarding will touch down in Paris for thesingle-day street eventon Sunday, July 28th.
Twenty-two skaters representing 11 countries are gearing up to show off their best tricks to five judges, who will assess their performances on a scale of 0-100 points.
How the street competition works
Street competitionsreplicate an urban environment, with obstacles like ledges, handrails, and stairs integrated throughout the course.
Athletes attempt five tricks in each of two 45-second runs. However, only their best run and top two tricks will count toward their overall score. The top eight skaters after the preliminary round will advance to the final, which follows the same format.
Team USA's medal-hunting skateboarding trio
Countries are held to a maximum of three skatersfor each competition (street and park). In the 2024 Olympic street contest, five nations qualified a full trio — including the US.
Under USA Skateboarding coach Alexis Sablone — who placed fourth in the Tokyo Olympics' street competition — the lone competing Olympic veteran is27-year-old Mariah Duran, who hopes to add an Olympic medal to the six X Games honors already in her trophy case.
Joining Duran — and repping Olympic skateboarding’s sizable youth contingent — are19-year-old Poe Pinsonand16-year-old Paige Heyn,who snagged bronze at the 2023 Pan Am Games.
Top contenders look to improve upon Tokyo Olympics
The US will undoubtedlyface steep competition in Paris,led by perennial top contenders Japan.
With six of the world's top 10 street skateboarders hailing from Japan, the three-skater rule forced them to leave behind some big names. That includesMomiji Nishiya, who won the sport’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo at 13 years old. With Nishiya failing to qualify, Japan’s 19-year-old reigning bronze medalist Funa Nakayama and 14-year-old world No. 1 Coco Yoshizawa are primed to take her place on the podium.
Another major threat is Brazilian phenom Rayssa Leal. The 16-year-old wasimpressing Tony Hawkat age eight, and looks poised to one-up her silver medal performance in Tokyo on Sunday.
Where to watch USA Skateboarding's Olympic street team
Both the 6 AM ET prelims and 11 AM ET final will go down on Sunday, July 28th, with live coverage onNBC platforms.
JWS Staff
Jul 25, 2024
In the latest episode of Just Women's Sports' 1v1 With Kelley O'Hara, Gotham FC and USWNT star Rose Lavelle joins Olympic gold medalist and retired USWNT star Kelley O'Hara for a one-on-one conversation about the upcoming Paris Olympics.
We hear from Lavelle about her first impressions of new USWNT coach Emma Hayes, her international competition journey so far, and what it's like being one of the veterans on this roster.
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
Dee Lab
Jul 25, 2024
Team USA's rugbysquadwill begin the huntfor their first-ever Olympic medalwhen the Paris Games’rugby sevens tournamenttakes the pitch on Sunday.
This marks just the third time the Olympics have featured rugby sevens after itsdebut at the 2016 Rio Games.
How the Olympic rugby sevens tournament works
Unlike traditional rugby’s 15-player teams and 40-minute halves, rugby sevens consists of squads of seven battling it out through two seven-minute halves. Reflecting the sport’s sped-up nature, the Olympic rugby sevens tournament is played over justthree consecutive days.
Twelve teams divided into three groups of four will compete in round-robinpool playto earn points — three for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss — from Sunday, July 28th through the first half of Monday, July 29th.
The two teams with the most points in each group plus the next two overall best teams then advance to Monday afternoon's quarterfinals.
On Tuesday, July 30th, teams knocked out of the playoffs will face off in"placing" matchesto achieve an official Olympic rating. These games are played concurrently with the semifinals before the bronze and gold medal contests close out the tournament.
Veterans lead Team USA's Olympic charge
The US is looking to improveon their fifth- and sixth-place finishesatRioandTokyo, respectively, and they’re banking on having the experience to do it.
Seven of Team USA's 12 players are Olympic veterans, with two — 33-year-olds Lauren Doyle and Alev Kelter — having competed in both of the sport’s previous Olympic showcases. Doyle and fellow Tokyo vet Naya Tapper co-captain the squad, which also features US rugby standout andTikTok star Ilona Maher.
However, to ascend their first-ever Olympic podium, the US will have to contend with the sport’s top teams — including Rio gold medalistsAustraliaand Tokyo champsNew Zealand. Plus, an especially hungry Team GB will be particularly tough to beat, as the current world No. 1 lookscto avenge their fourth-place finishes in 2016 and 2021.
How to watch the US rugby sevens squad
The US opens pool play against Japan at 10:30 AM ET before facing No. 40 Brazil at 2 PM ET on Sunday, July 28th, with live coverage onNBC platforms.
Claire Watkins
Jul 25, 2024
The USWNT begins their 2024 Olympic campaign today, taking on Zambia in their first group stage match.
The team will be looking for a positive first result, before taking on Germany and then Australia in a fast and furious schedule kicking off in Nice before traveling west down the coast to Marseille.
The road to Olympic gold starts now
While eight of the 12 teams competing in the group stage will move on to the August 3rd quarterfinals — including two countries advancing on a third-place tiebreak — first week successes can dictate a path to the medal rounds.
"There's top footballing nations in this tournament. I don't think shocks in the women's game exist anymore — I think we have to reframe our focus a little bit and have respect for the rest of the world," US head coach Emma Hayes told the media this week.
"We've learned a lot and we've grown a lot," added USWNT forward Sophia Smith. "We're just looking at this tournament and not backwards because there's really no point in doing that."
Sizing up the USWNT's Olympic challengers
Hayes’s words could prove true from the jump.While FIFA world No. 92 Zambia weighs in as Group B's lowest-ranked team, they're definitely capable of setting the USWNT on their heels. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations, though Zambia has both Tokyo Olympics and 2023 World Cup experience under their belt.
Case and point? Starting striker Barbra Banda currently leads the NWSL's Golden Boot race, firmly placing herself in the MVP conversation while routinely going head-to-head with USWNT players.
"I know what a threat she can be," US defender Emily Fox said this week. "Their entire team is a threat, especially with their transition. But we're ready for it."
Hayes has emphasized cohesion from her starting group, indicating fans could see this afternoon's starting XI mirror the lineups utilized in the last two tune-up friendlies. The US defeated Mexico 1-0 before drawing Costa Rica 0-0 in their final two games before traveling to training camp in France.
Where to watch USWNT vs. Zambia
Today’s Olympic group stage match between the USWNT and Zambia kicks off at 3 PM ET with live coverage on NBC platforms.
