Wisconsin Volleyball's Grace Egan Returns to Court for First Time in 13 Matches

Wisconsin senior outside hitter Grace Egan briefly returned to the court on Friday after missing 13 matches with a back injury.

Egan appeared in Sunday's 3-1 win over Michigan for a set point, as well.

Just over a month ago, on Sept. 14, Egan publicly announced she was experiencing a medical setback that had kept her noticeably absent from the Badgers' lineup since their game against Florida on Sept. 2.

In an emotional post, Egan shared that she was dealing with a back issue that caused a lot of pain, both physically and emotionally. Her head coach, Kelly Sheffield, later provided additional information, saying that after the Florida match, Egan couldn't feel her legs, couldn't walk and spent the day in the emergency room.

"You don’t know if a season is done, you know, if a career is on the line. Those are scary things," Sheffield said on the Kelly Sheffield Show with Jon Arias.

"Every setback I’ve faced has made me stronger, and I truly believe I’ll come out of this healthier, better, and playing the best volleyball of my life," Egan wrote on Instagram. "This is a setback. I’ll be back.”

On Oct. 22, ahead of Wisconsin's matchup with Washington, Egan posted another video on her Instagram, a series of clips of her running onto the court with the words, "I'm back."

In their top-15 matchup against the Washington Huskies, fans weren't sure if they'd get to see Egan back on the court or if Sheffield would wait to ease her back into competition. But during the contentious fourth set, the Field House stood in ovation as she was subbed in for her first match in almost two months.

Big ovation from the UW Field House crowd as #Badgers outside hitter Grace Egan subs in to serve.

First match for her since Sept. 2 after dealing with a back injury. pic.twitter.com/W0brsyn7hi
— John Steppe (@JSteppe1) October 24, 2026

"She told me yesterday she's back and I said okay, alright, you're back. She hasn't done [many] practices, so just because she says she's back doesn't mean 'let's get you back out on the court.'" Sheffield said after the match, when asked about why he inserted Egan into the fourth set. "I figured all right, it's getting late, people are grumpy...I think we were getting popped at that point and I was hoping to get the crowd into it a little bit and they did."

The Badgers ultimately fell in five to the Huskies (25-20, 25-27, 25-21, 18-25, 16-18).

Egan was only on the court for one point, coming in at set point to serve. But for a player who has experienced the setbacks that she has, getting back out in any capacity this season is a huge win for Egan and volleyball fans.

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