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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Emma Hruby
May 20, 2024
Emma Hayes is bowing out of the WSL in style, with Chelsea winning its fifth consecutive WSL title on Saturday.
The Blues needed a win over Manchester United on Saturday and they got one in true Chelsea fashion, beating United 6-0 to take the WSL crown. While the team tied Manchester City in points at 55 apiece, they beat City on goal differential, outscoring their northern opponents 53 to 46.
The title is the team's fifth in a row and seventh under Hayes, who now departs Chelsea after 12 years as manager.
"I can't say it's my most enjoyable but it's definitely been the toughest, without doubt, and for that reason probably the sweetest," she told Sky Sports. "I'm just so relieved it's over. The hardest thing to do is five in a row because people take their eye off the ball. My legacy is winning while building a team for the future."
Midfielder Erin Cuthbert called the title the "hardest one yet" for Chelsea, but also the sweetest. A month ago, the team was virtually all but out of the title race, with Hayes conceding as much. Chelsea went on to right the ship, however, putting on a stunning eight goal performance against Bristol City to insert themselves back into the conversation.
"In the moments that really matter, we find a way," Cuthbert told BBC Sport. "We've never really backed down from a challenge. The fans have been with us from the start, they've been incredible this year.
"There have been a few rough moments, this title has taken about 10 years off my life if I'm being deadly honest. The hardest one yet, the sweetest one yet, so I'm going to enjoy tonight."
Hayes will now leave to manage the USWNT, telling BBC Sport on Saturday that the team and its fans will always in be in her heart.
"I don't think I have the words really. I am full with a ton of different emotions," she said. "I am ready, I have given everything I've got. [I am] ready for my next adventure."
Emma Hruby
May 20, 2024
A first-of-its-kind sponsorship has hit the WNBA, with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) announcing on Friday it would be supporting all 12 players of the two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.
The deal grants each player $100,000 dollars in exchange for representing the city in 2024 and 2025.
"The offer's really simple: We want you to just play, we want you to keep repping Las Vegas, and if you do a three-peat, that'd be icing on the cake," LVCVA president and CEO Steve Hill told the team in a video released Friday.
BREAKING: We're doing something that's never been done before. We're going #ALLINLV and sponsoring EVERY. SINGLE. PLAYER. on the @LVAces roster this season! pic.twitter.com/ntBZVZeFJu
— Las Vegas (@Vegas) May 17, 2024
The news comes as WNBA salaries and team caps continue to be a point of contention in the league. With many players making less than $100,000 a year, outside sponsors have long helped bridge the financial gap for players.
On Saturday, Aces coach Becky Hammon said that the local tourism bureau had reached out to all of the players individually via their agents, leaving the Aces organization out of the conversation entirely. The goal was to avoid breaking cap circumvention rules established by the league’s CBA.
"I'm going to put it to you real simple like this: Most of sponsorship people go after the top two people," Hammon said. "[A'ja Wilson] is taken care of — she's got plenty of stuff going on. [Kelsey Plum] has plenty of stuff. In this situation, from what I understand, is they wanted the whole team. So they went and called individuals, agents. I don't know the details.
"I have nothing to do with it; the Aces don't have anything to do with it. It's just odd, but that's basically what happened."
Despite the apparent separation, the WNBA has launched an investigation into the legality of the sponsorship, according to multiple sources.
While the sponsorship does not directly violate the league-wide salary cap because the LVCVA did not orchestrate the sponsorship with the club, other teams are likely to raise questions about its fairness and whether or not it violates the spirit of the cap rules. The deal could potentially upend the balance of what teams are able to offer players in the free agency market.
"We have 100 influencers we pay to represent Las Vegas," Hill told the Associated Press. "This isn’t any different then that. All of these ladies are completely eligible to have sponsorships. We are just asking them to represent Vegas."
It’s not the first time the league has investigated the Aces for cap circumnavigation. Just last year, the team faced consequences — Hammon was suspended for two games while the team lost its 2025 first-round draft pick — for crossing league rules regarding impermissible player benefits and workplace policies.
"We get [things] from our agents all the time; they wanted it to be a big moment because it's something that's never happened before," Aces star forward A'ja Wilson said about the LVCVA's offer. "I don't understand the investigation; I haven't dived into it yet. I just looked at my phone [after the game] and was like, 'Oh, wow, just another day in the life of the Aces.' We can't ever start just normal, it's always going to be something, and that's okay."
Emma Hruby
May 20, 2024
Gotham FC's Lynn Williams etched her name into the NWSL history books on Sunday, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer across all NWSL competitions.
Coming in the 57th minute of Gotham's 2-1 win over Chicago, Williams's 79th goal breaks a tie with Sam Kerr for the league record. The header was her ninth-career headed goal, and her first since 2021.
"I don’t get the goals without my teammates. I have played with so many incredible people over the 10 years," Williams said after the game. "At the end of the day, I think I just owe it all to the people that are around me — all my teammates, all my family members. I just owe it all to them, and I can’t put any single one of those goals away without them."
Kerr still holds the regular season record, with 77 of her 78 goals having come in the regular season. Williams sits in second place with 66 regular season goals scored, having long been the top-scoring American in the NWSL.
The USWNT regular has won four championships with the WNY Flash, North Carolina Courage, and reigning champions Gotham FC.
"Her commitment to make sure the team wins, even the last kick of the game is her kicking out of the box, no? She has that commitment, that passion, and that quality to be scoring goals in key moments for us, for the US, for whatever team she’s playing (for)," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said on Sunday. "She’s wearing the armband. Having people like her in this club is what we want."
"I’m just really proud of myself. I think that I have exceeded a lot of people’s expectations," Williams added. "For a very long time, I have believed in myself, and a lot of moments along the way I’ve been told, 'No, you’re not good enough.' And I think that every single time I score a goal, every single time I’m put on the field, it’s another moment for me to continue to believe in myself."
The striker even got a shoutout from one of the greatest of all time: Serena Williams.
"Congrats cuz," she tweeted after the Gotham victory.
Emma Hruby
May 17, 2024
The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener.
A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring.
"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."
The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.
"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."
"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.
"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."
But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.
"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.
Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.
"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."
