MADISON – The kid has been on campus a short time, but she’s made a big impression.
“Charlie is a baller.” Wisconsin senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin declared.
“She’s super trusting,” senior middle blocker Caroline Crawford said.
“That girl, fearless,” junior middle blocker Carter Booth noted. “She does not care.”
Badger volleyball fans, meet Charlie Fuerbringer, a 5-foot-11 freshman setter from California who will have the task of getting the ball to one of the most-impressive collection of hitters in the land this season. It’s an amazing challenge and great opportunity that Fuerbringer has used to give her teammates a glimpse at the teammate and player she can be.
She has taken ownership of the situation.
“I’d definitely say that any position, anyone who is playing on the court, especially at this high of a level, needs to have some type of confidence just to get them through it,” she said. “But the extra confidence is coming from me just playing with those girls. I’m pretty comfortable at this point.”
Fuerbringer is poised to take the reins of an attack that returns almost every key hitter from a team that ranked second in the nation in hitting percentage (.310) and reached the Final Four last season. The journey starts Tuesday night.
Wisconsin opens the season at No. 6 Louisville in the American Volleyball Coaches Association First Serve Showcase. Next are Labor Day weekend matches in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum against No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Stanford on Sunday and Monday.
The Badgers’ nonconference schedule over the next month features five ranked opponents and another that received votes in the AVCA preseason poll.
Fuerbringer will get a taste of high-level volleyball right out of the gate.
“She can help us in a lot of ways, but the thing is she loves to be in these types of situations, these types of environments,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “No fear whatsoever.”
Fuerbringer spoke with the Journal Sentinel about her transition to college, building relationships with her teammates and the unique family background that helped her reach this point.
Volleyball is in Charlie Fuerbringer’s blood
Imagine having a couple of former All-Americans and NCAA champions to call mom and dad. Imagine having a former Olympian as an uncle. That was life for Fuerbringer growing up.
Her father, Matt, was a four-time All-American at Stanford and a member of the Cardinal's 1997 national championship team. Her mother, Joy, played at Long Beach State and was an All-American setter as a senior when the program won a national title in 1993, the year the Final Four was played at the UW Field House. Her uncle, David Mckienzie was a 2012 Olympian.
Today Fuerbringer's father is an assistant coach with the U.S. national men’s team and will coach the Madison League One volleyball team this winter.. Her mother spent five seasons as Long Beach State's head coach.
“I think setting came naturally,” Fuebringer said. “I also think part of it was my mom was a setter. I just think subconsciously that kind of led me to the same position that I’m in today. But growing up in a volleyball family, a volleyball world was awesome. I think it helps with my IQ and that’s a big thing. To be a setter, you’ve got to have good IQ in volleyball.”
Leaning on the leadership of Carly Anderson
The Badgers find themselves in the unique position of having no returning setter from last season.
Fuerbringer initially thought she would come in and follow the lead of MJ Hammill, but when Hammill decided to not use her COVID-19 year of eligibility the Badgers had to start fresh with Fuebringer, freshman Morgan Van Wie and graduate transfer Carly Anderson.
Anderson, a four-year starter and two-time all-Big Sky selection at Montana, has assumed a leadership role for the group.
“She’s been setting in college for four years and she’s freaking awesome,” Fuebringer said. “She helps us out so much. She’s so supportive. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
“She’s just been awesome to us, especially being a transfer. She’s new here trying to figure it out but she’s acting to us like she been here. Like she knows what she’s doing and she’s going to do her best to help us guide our way to know what we’re doing, too.”
Fuerbringer rates her play a ‘5 or 6’ in the exhibition
Fuerbringer finished with 36 assists in the Badgers’ exhibition match sweep of Bradley last week. She also tallied two aces, five digs and one block.
The team overcame some second-set struggles to finish the evening with a .341 hitting percentage.
During the final set, five players had between three and seven swings and the team posted a match-high .500 hitting percentage.
How did she rate the night?
“Like a 5 or 6 (out of 10),” she said. “I’m not going to lie, but it was good. It wasn’t bad, but I know I can do even better.”
Fuerbringer has had multiple years of experience with USA volleyball and high-level club volleyball, but admits feeling nervous for the scrimmage, especially after learning that she would open the match serving for the team.
The match was also the first time she got an inside look at how Sheffield interacts with his setters during a match. He and Fuerbringer often picked each other's brains during timeouts or in between sets.
It's an image UW fans probably will become used to seeing over the next few years. The early returns look pretty good.
"We’ve been practicing for a little while and it will get better as the season goes on," Fuerbringer said. "I’m not saying it’s perfect. But once I got going, I would say I was in the flow of things. I feel like that is my biggest strength, that I’m not thinking what these people are thinking. I’m not thinking about what is going on outside of the court and my side of the court."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Setter Charlie Fuerbringer ready to take reins for Wisconsin volleyball
