Wisconsin volleyball: All-American Temi Thomas-Ailara joins UW as a transfer

Head coach Kelly Sheffield is always looking to add more firepower to the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team. This time, he’ll bring in an All-American standout to the Badgers’ arsenal.

Former Northwestern outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara announced Tuesday she committed to Wisconsin. She’ll come in as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.

The 6-foot-2 outside hitter was a four-year standout for the Wildcats, but saved her best for her final season where she was named an AVCA All-American, first team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Region after leading the loaded Big Ten with 502 kills at a rate of 4.33 kills per set.

Thomas-Ailara boasts a powerful swing and was the clear leader for a Northwestern squad that punched above its weight last year en route to upset wins over Minnesota and Purdue — Thomas-Ailara had 25 kills in the five-set win over Purdue. The senior also put up solid defensive numbers across blocking and digging, suggesting she could play all six rotations for the Badgers if needed.

Thomas-Ailara will add a great option at outside hitter for Sheffield to go along with Sarah Franklin and Julia Orzoł. That position lost a little bit of depth this off-season as Jade Demps transferred to the LSU Tigers.

Thomas-Ailara is the Badgers’ second transfer addition this season. Former Minnesota Gopher middle blocker Carter Booth joined the UW as well.

The 6-foot-7 middle blocker earned All-Big Ten First Team and Freshman Team honors while leading the Gophers with 1.48 blocks per set.

UW also will add defensive specialist/libero Sage Damrow for the spring semester as an early enrollee. Damrow was a standout at Howards Grove in-state and was named the second best libero in the class by PrepVolleyball.