Livingston Goes From Royal to Royalty

It’s been a season of reason, and certainly a December to remember, for Sherisa Livingston, a junior middle blocker who has helped Wisconsin dispose of UCLA and USC in consecutive matches of the NCAA women’s volleyball playoffs.

A former player at Royal High, Livingston has been unstoppable in leading the Badgers to a place they’ve never been--the NCAA title match, today against Nebraska at Richmond, Va.

Not bad for a small-town girl who didn’t know the difference between a volleyball and a medicine ball a few years ago.

Her success has been the result of channeling an amazing vertical leap (she can touch at 10 feet 7 1/2 inches) and a powerful but erratic arm swing into a consistent display of power and panache.

It has paid off, particularly this week.

On Wednesday, she became the first Wisconsin volleyball player to be selected first-team All-American.

On Thursday, she had 21 kills in a semifinal against USC and set a school record with 635 kills in a season, breaking the mark of 628 set by Amy Lee in 1995.

Today, she tries to help Wisconsin win its first volleyball championship.

“Sherisa’s become a legend in Madison,” said Coach Pete Waite, in his second year at Wisconsin. “When introductions take place and she’s the last one mentioned, it’s like being in the United Center when Michael Jordan is introduced--you can’t hear a thing. The Wisconsin fans show her how much they appreciate what she’s done.”

When Livingston showed up as a shy teenager at Royal, she was far from an All-American. Her high school coach, Bob Ferguson, chuckles when reflecting on her volleyball beginnings.

“It was all questions when she first started,” he said. “A lot of times she would say, ‘Where’s the court, where should I be?’

“Until her junior year, she was really struggling to catch up to her height. A lot of times when you’re tall in high school, your coordination doesn’t catch up to you until later. Once she had a clue where that was, she a had a lot of confidence.”

Livingston’s progress continued at Wisconsin. She started as a freshman but was erratic. She’d crush a ball on one play and hit it five feet long the next.

She improved as a sophomore, leading the team in blocks, finishing second in kills and earning All-Big Ten honors, but she has played at a different level this season.

She delivered a career-high 37 kills against Ohio State and had a team-high 15 kills in a sweep of Penn State, the first conference loss for the Nittany Lions in nearly three years.

She has been no different in the tournament.

An extremely quick player for being 6 feet 2, she is explosive and effective.

In a Mideast Regional semifinal against Kansas State, her 29 kills led to a straight-forward admission from Wildcats’ Coach Jim McLaughlin.

“I don’t know how you stop Sherisa,” he said.

UCLA had similar problems two days later, with Livingston springing for 15 kills and earning regional most valuable player honors.

Against USC, she had six blocks, including one on match point.

Livingston, who was recruited by USC but not UCLA, said she didn’t derive any special satisfaction from eliminating the two L.A. teams.

“No,” she said. “But it’s nice because they’re both powerhouses in volleyball. This is a nice thing for a school like Wisconsin to do.”

The Badgers (33-3) have plenty to worry about while preparing for top-ranked Nebraska (33-0), a physical team that blocks well.

Not to mention that the Huskers’ coach, John Cook, coached at Wisconsin for seven years, including Livingston’s freshman season, before leaving for Nebraska in 1998.

Cook’s loss was Waite’s gain. Waite, who turned Northern Illinois into a solid program before taking the Wisconsin job, has the players he could never recruit to DeKalb, Ill.

He feels fortunate to be coaching one player in particular.

“She’s [U.S.] National team material,” Waite said. “And she’s got another year [at Wisconsin].”

In the meantime, Livingston has other things on her mind.

“There’s other players who have brought the program to national prominence,” she said. “But we’re bringing the school to a new level. A historic level.”

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BY THE NUMBERS

A look at Sherisa Livingston’s career at Wisconsin:

635: Kills for a season, A Wisconsin record

1.4: Average blocks per game

33-3: Wisconsin’s overall record this season

37: Kills against Ohio State, a career best

0 Number of NCAA women’s titles in school history