When Sherisa Livingston suited up in a volleyball uniform nearly four years ago for the Wisconsin Badgers, no one could foresee the future that lay ahead. Now, a UW-record 1,680 kills later, Livingston has become a household name in the minds of the Badger volleyball faithful.
Her road to volleyball fame began in Simi Valley, California. Livingston decided to take up volleyball after watching her older sister Shannon play.
“When my sister was in ninth grade and I was in eighth, she played [volleyball],” said Livingston. “So I decided I wanted to play, and then I liked it, and she didn’t. So I kept playing, and it kind of snowballed from there.”
It snowballed her away from the beaches of sunny California to the snowbanks of Wisconsin. However, playing college volleyball was not something Livingston saw herself doing.
While playing volleyball at Royal High School, the 6-2 middle blocker had a lot to learn.
“I really didn’t know a lot about volleyball when I played in high school”, commented Livingston. “At least not as much as I know now.”
Livingston figured out the answers quickly before her four-year tenure was over at Royal High. She had nabbed first-team all-league and all-CIF honors, and the 1997 Daily News and Los Angeles Times all-area. The honors elevated past California as she was also named as part of Volleyball’s Fab 50, which tabs the 50 best high school volleyball players in the nation. Livingston estimates that it was sometime between the end of her junior year and beginning of her senior that she was going to take her volleyball talent a step higher to the college level.
Once that decision was made, the schools began calling, and Livingston had to decide in what scenery she wanted to spend the next four years. With both the powerhouses of the Pac-10 and the Big Ten knocking on her door, Livingston narrowed it down pretty quickly.
“I really didn’t like the [California] atmosphere,” said Livingston. “I’m not really a California person; I never was much for the beaches. So once I told [the California schools] I wasn’t interested, they stopped recruiting me.”
Livingston was quick to admit that then-UW head coach John Cook was her first reason for becoming a Badger. Her campus visit that followed only sealed the deal.
“When I came out here for my [recruiting] trip, I just loved it,” said Livingston. “I think I just knew that when I got here that I was supposed to stay here.”
However, for the second time in five years her motivation for playing volleyball was no longer with her on the court. Shortly after her freshman campaign in 1998 coach Cook packed his bags to take over the head coaching position at the University of Nebraska after seven years at the helm of the Badger program.
Livingston was devastated. While she admits that most players come to play because of the school, Livingston settled on Wisconsin because of the coach.
“I was really hurt [when Cook left] — I really liked him,” Livingston said.” I decided I was going to stay [at UW] because I did say I was going to stay here; and while the topic of transferring came up, I think I liked Wisconsin too much to go anyplace else.”
The decision to stay has led to nothing but honors for Livingston. In her first year at UW she garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Year and honorable mention all-Big Ten honors. She erased her honorable mention status the following year when she was tabbed all-Big Ten. Her junior year in 2000 has been by far the icing on the cake. Aside from being named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Year, she was also named first-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and Volleyball Magazine.
However, for Livingston, it is not the honors that highlight her junior year, it was how much the team had accomplished.
The 2000 squad went down in the UW record books as the best-ever after finishing 33-4 and finishing second in the NCAA tournament behind Cook’s Nebraska squad.
“We wanted to kick their butts,” said Livingston of Nebraska. “[Cook and UW] liked each other off the court, but it was a different story on.”
With this season already halfway over, Livingston and the fifth-ranked Badgers are off to their best start ever. Currently 16-2, 10-0 in the Big Ten, they are on pace to top last year’s finish, but they know that road to the top will be even bumpier than last year. For now, they will settle on maintaining their spot at the top of the conference and will concentrate on the NCAA tournament when the time comes.
“We would love to go [back to the NCAA championship game], but it is so hard to get to the Final Four,” Livingston said. “Everyone knows that we’ve been [to the championship], and they’re out to get us now.”
With only a month and half left in her collegiate career, Livingston has only a few more opportunities to hear her name announced as a Wisconsin Badger. And when No. 18 is announced last during starting lineups, the cheers for her will only be getting louder — and that is music to her ears.
