University of Wisconsin-Madison
12/18/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 12/18/2025 23:56
Badger volleyball battles to the bitter end in a five-set thriller at the national semifinals
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Wisconsin fans took over downtown Kansas City and saw their team nearly pull off an upset of No. 1 seed Kentucky.
​Photos by Taylor Wolfram
​December 18, 2025
The Badger volleyball team's upset bid for a national championship came up just short Thursday, Dec. 18, after falling to No. 1 seed Kentucky in five unforgettable sets. UW got off to a dominating start, winning the first set 25-12 under the heavy hitting of star seniors Carter Booth and Mimi Colyer. Booth famously said that she refuses to lose after taking down another No. 1 seed in Texas in the regional finals. She made Badger fans believe in those words all over again on Thursday, delivering a career high 21 kills in the match. It took Kentucky three match points in the fifth set to finally put away the never-back-down Badgers.
And Badger fans - who showed up to Kansas City in big numbers - refused to be anything but proud of the players and their remarkable effort.
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