College women’s volleyball

Sterling grad Grace Egan onto Final Four with Wisconsin: The No. 3-seeded Wisconsin volleyball team topped No. 1 Texas 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19 on Sunday to advance to the NCAA National Semifinals for the seventh time in program history.

Sterling High School graduate Grace Egan was a factor in the win on Texas’ own floor.

Playing her first season with the Badgers after transferring from Ohio State, Egan had nine kills, two aces and a block in the win.

Wisconsin advanced to face another No. 1 seed in Kentucky on Thursday, Dec. 18, in Kansas City. The semifinals will be televised on ESPN, with Wisconsin playing 30 minutes after the first semifinal ends between Pittsburgh and Texas A&M, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Egan leads Wisconsin with 27 aces this season and is third on the team with 2.37 kills per set. The redshirt sophomore and right-side hitter was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association North All-Region team. She totaled double-doubles (kills, digs) against Texas, Florida and Northwestern. She had a season-high 16 kills and 17.5 points in a three-set loss to Texas during the regular season.

Egan was on Sterling’s state championship team in 2019, her freshman year, and was named Sauk Valley Media Player of the Year as a junior.