Badger volleyball announces summer foreign tour

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Wisconsin volleyball team will take their talents overseas, embarking on a foreign tour beginning June of this year.

The Badgers trip runs from June 2-14, competing and sightseeing in Istanbul, Turkey; Ljubljana and Maribor, Slovenia; Venice, Milan, and Lake Como, Italy; and Zurich, Switzerland. UW will play at least six matches against teams from Turkey and Italy as well as other visiting federation or club teams.

All 15 athletes on the 2023 Wisconsin fall roster will be traveling with the team, including three newcomers.

“I’m really looking forward to taking the team to Europe this summer,” said Badger Volleyball Head Coach Kelly Sheffield. “We get 10 practices heading into the trip and hopefully we’ll have our whole team able to participate in those. It’s almost like a preseason with practices and meetings heading into the trip. Then once we get over there the opportunity to play elite competition, explore new countries and cultures, and to really spend time bonding as a group is invaluable.”

The first stop on the tour will be a homecoming for freshman libero Gulce Guctekin who is from Istanbul, Turkey. The Badgers will play against her former team Fenerbahce. Wisconsin also returns to Maribor, Slovenia, where they first met Julia Orzol when she was playing with the Polish Junior National Team.

““It’ll be great to take Gulce home and to have her show us around and be able to play in her hometown and in front of some of her fans who continue to follow her,” Sheffield said.

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