Question marks surrounding the Wisconsin volleyball program swirled for a week.

The Badgers had suffered two losses to conference rivals Penn State and Ohio State.

Then, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, then-No. 7 Illinois came to the UW Field House. A loss would have dropped the Badgers 0-3 in conference play, and could have potentially demoted them out of the top 25 rankings for the first time in nearly two years.

“Our demise has been greatly exaggerated,” head coach Kelly Sheffield joked after the match. “Not sure what that means. I heard it one time.”

What demise? Wisconsin handled the Illini in four sets en route to their first conference victory of 2015.

But more importantly, the Badgers proved they can still hang with the most elite teams in the nation, despite their youth and inexperience.

The win took 48 assists and 13 digs from Lauren Carlini, a career-high 15 kills for Romana Kriskova, 12 and 11 kills from Haleigh Nelson and Lauryn Gillis respectively and 16 digs each from Taylor Morey and Kelli Bates, not to mention a team total of 12.0 blocks.

But as these stats show, the match was not a comfortable ride. The Fighting Illini didn’t hand the Badgers the win, but forced them to work for nearly every point.

The level of play the Badgers elevated themselves to in the match points to glaring inconsistencies observed over the course of the season so far.

The victory against Illinois makes losses to Western Kentucky (3-1 loss) and Arkansas (3-2 loss) all the more puzzling for a team that has beaten No. 7 Illinois and previously No. 18 North Carolina, and narrowly lost to then-No. 12 Ohio State, alongside six swept matches on the season.

At the risk of sounding cliché, it’s truly been a tale of two Badgers teams in 2015. The team that reminds fans that it is, after all, a rebuilding year, and the team that can end the night with a stat line similar to the one above.

“We’re working through things together,” Morey said. “That’s what’s going to make the difference in the long-run. Making little adjustments every day, listening to coach and we’ll just keep getting better. There’s a long road ahead.”

Veteran leaders such as Carlini, a junior, and Morey, a senior, saw their workload at the start of the season burdened by the amount of chemistry they’ve needed to forge with eight new players on the roster, six of whom are freshman.

Yet after the victory over Illinois, it seems the Badgers are working out the imbalances which have plagued the Badgers throughout much of the beginning of the season.

“Every single game I’m building more and more confidence with my hitters,” Carlini said. “I think the hitters are gaining confidence in me, and knowing where I tend to put the ball — giving it to them at the right time. Every single match we’re getting better, gaining momentum with each other and just getting confident.”

Wisconsin’s three game losing streak began with a five-set loss to Arkansas, followed by a sweep at No. 1 Penn State and ended with another five-set loss to then-No. 12 Ohio State. Players described the agony in each of the three matches, only to then sit with loose smiles on their faces after beating Illinois, and reminisce over the lessons they’ve learned, coupled with the joy of winning.

It’s those lessons that Sheffield hopes his team can build from and find a solid identity.

If anything, the win over Illinois shows that the Badgers are coming closer to finding that identity. Like the teams of 2013 and 2014, they are growing into a more cohesive unit with a drive that makes them a championship-style team.

With a solid identity, the Badgers can ditch their young and inconsistent persona for one that exudes maturity heading into the thick of Big Ten competition.

“Being put in those situations, if we had just stuck the match to Illinois without any fight, sure we would’ve gained confidence in our abilities, but that doesn’t really train us for other matches where maybe we aren’t doing as well,” Nelson said. “In the set three and four, they’re coming back and we have to have that confidence and that stability.”

It’s games like these that show Wisconsin is ready to take those steps toward consistency, and that they are a legitimate contender. For now, the No. 19 Badgers will have to repeat against their upcoming opponents, and only time will tell if this signifies the end of the learning curve for a young, talented team.