Feb. 19, 2008

Sherisa Livingston was a typical younger sibling, always wanting to do what her big sister did. At the age of 14, she followed her sister’s footsteps and began playing volleyball. The sport would eventually become more than following in a sibling’s footsteps, it became a passion that led her to a scholarship at the University of Wisconsin and a professional career. 

Livingston grew up in Simi Valley, Calif., a small city nearly 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles. She had never played volleyball until she entered her freshman year of high school when her older sister’s coach convinced her to give it a try. She loved the sport immediately and began working to become the best player she could be. Livingston also participated in track and field starting at the age of 10, but after one year of playing volleyball, she gave up running to concentrate solely on her new passion. 

Her decision paid off because she went on to become one of the top high school volleyball stars in the nation. She was named one of the country’s ‘Fab 50’ volleyball players, was named to the Los Angeles Times All-Area team in 1997 and helped lead her team to a second-place finish in the 1998 junior Olympics. All of these accomplishments came while playing some of the best volleyball teams in America.

“The competition in Southern California was excellent,” Livingston said. “I grew up playing against some of the top players in the country. Most of the people I played with or against in high school are still playing, either professionally overseas or in the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals).”

With all of this success, universities became very interested in Livingston’s playing ability. Wisconsin was the first college to send a letter of interest and it made Livingston realize how amazing it was to have someone think she was good enough to play after high school. Wisconsin head coach John Cook was the key in making her decision to play in Madison.

“Coach Cook didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear, or fawn all over me as a player,” Livingston said. “He was honest and up front and even came to my house alone for the home meeting. He stayed at a hotel near my house instead of one near the airport. He sat in my living room and convinced me that I could be a Badger.”

In the summer of 1998, Livingston indeed became a Badger and made the 1,700-mile journey to Madison to play for Wisconsin. She took the move in stride and had no problems adjusting to being far away from home to begin the next phase of her life. Although the move went smoothly, adjusting to the speed of the game on the court and the college workload off the court took some time.

“The adjustment to the college was a big one,” Livingston said. “The game was much faster and the girls hit a lot harder.  Practices were tougher, but I eventually got used to them. The first year was hard because I not only had to adjust to class schedules, 15-page papers, cranky professors and huge lecture halls, but also to a new system of volleyball. There was no offseason in the spring with 5:15 a.m. workouts.  But it was worth it.”

In her first year at Wisconsin, Livingston did not disappoint. She led the team in hitting with a .361 percentage and finished the year second on the team with 3.23 kills and 1.19 blocks per game. The Badgers went 30-5 and finished second in the Big Ten standings. Livingston was an All-Big Ten honorable-mention honoree, which was just the beginning of what was to come.

Livingston missed four matches of her sophomore season in 1999 to play at the World Junior Championship as a member of the U.S. Junior National Team.  Even with missing a few games, she increased her kill and block total. She led the Badger defense with 1.54 blocks per game and was second on the team with a .310 hitting percentage while knocking down 3.64 kills per game.

The 2000 season would be a special one for Livingston and the Wisconsin volleyball program. Her individual achievements were remarkable.  She led the team in a number of categories, including kills and blocks per game and hitting percentage. She set a school five-game match record with 37 kills against Big Ten foe Ohio State. She also set a Badger season record with 654 kills and a hitting percentage of .373. Beyond her individual achievements, she led her team to an unforgettable season.

Wisconsin's Sherisa Livingston was named the Big Ten's co-Player of the Year in 2000.

Wisconsin finished the regular season with an impressive 28-3 record and an 18-2 mark in Big Ten play to earn the conference championship. With her stellar play, Livingston was honored as a first-team All-American and Big Ten Co-Player of the Year.

“The thing that sticks out the most from my career was the night we won the Big Ten Conference the first time,” Livingston said. “We stopped for gas as we were heading out of Lansing.  We had just beaten Michigan State and knew that we had clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title. I went to call my mom to let her know about the win, when all of a sudden I hear everyone yelling and screaming. Then I could clearly hear what everyone was shouting about.  We had the title outright. Ohio State had beaten Penn State and we were Big Ten champions. It was an awesome moment.”

The Badgers went on to carry that momentum into the NCAA Tournament.  Livingston helped lead Wisconsin to first and second round wins over Bucknell and Northern Iowa. The next week, the Badgers took down No. 17 Kansas State and No. 11 UCLA to earn a spot in the national semifinals to play against No. 2 USC. The Badgers swept the Trojans and found themselves in the national championship game against No. 1 ranked Nebraska. Wisconsin played the Cornhuskers tough, but fell short in a five-game match. Although her team did not win the national title, it was a year Livingston will never forget.

“It was an awesome year,” Livingston said. “It made all those early morning practices worth it. All the grueling physical labor and personal sacrifice was worth it. To finally be able to say ‘I’m a Big Ten champion’ was huge. Then to say that we made it to the finals, still bittersweet, but how many teams can even say they made it that far. It was the culmination of a dream.”

During her senior campaign in 2001, the Badgers were once again crowned Big Ten champions finishing with a 19-1 record in conference play and 27-4 overall.  Wisconsin’s season ended prematurely losing to No. 15 Texas A&M in the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Livingston’s numbers were outstanding again finishing with a career best .402 hitting percentage and knocking down 5.13 kills per game. She was honored once again as a first-team All-American selection, becoming the first two-time first-team volleyball All-American at UW.

Years later, Livingston is still appreciative of the opportunity to play at Wisconsin and compete in the Big Ten.

“The Big Ten was an exciting conference to be a part of,” Livingston said. “On any given night, any team could beat any team, which always led to some interesting upsets. I really enjoyed playing in the conference. The competition was fierce and the other players were awesome.”

Livingston went on to play volleyball professionally and continues to do so to this day as part of a team in Turkey. In September of 2007, Livingston was bestowed with the greatest honor of her athletics career, when she was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. Her name will now be forever etched in UW’s athletic history.