MADISON – Wisconsin volleyball showed its swagger.After Alicia Andrew and Una Vajagic had a block in the first set to give the Badgers an 11-5 lead, star setter Charlie Fuerbringer gave a little wave toward the other side of the court.That wave ultimately was not premature or unfitting either, as the Badgers swiftly waved goodbye to North Carolina with three-set win 25-14, 25-21, 27-25 on Friday, Dec. 5 at the UW Field House to advance past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament for the 13th consecutive season.“You got to believe in the person next to you,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “And you don’t believe just because you like them. You believe in those types of moments because you’ve been in the trenches with them numerous times. … They’ve done hard things together, and then that frees you up to do magic.”Here are three takeaways from the Badgers’ second-round magic:Mimi Colyer delivers in final Field House matchMimi Colyer’s Field House finale certainly did not disappoint.The senior outside hitter – one of 14 semifinalists for AVCA national player of the year – recorded 22 kills while hitting .405. It was her fifth time in UW’s last seven matches with at least 20 kills as the Oregon transfer continues to have a star-studded season with the Badgers.Colyer reiterated after the match that “coming to Wisconsin was the best decision I’ve ever made” while trying (unsuccessfully) not to cry in her first answer of the press conference.“The love that we have for each other and the love that this fan base has for each other is just so special,” Colyer said as the tears began. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. This is so embarrassing.”While Colyer’s offensive production will obviously garner the spotlight, she contributed in other ways as well. Her 13 digs were second only to libero Kristen Simon’s 16 digs. Her three blocks were tied for the most on the Badgers – and her most in a match since recording four against Indiana on Nov. 9.“It’s always a work in progress,” Colyer said of her blocking. “I love a good block, especially when we know that they’re going to be a good blocking team. Like we can do it, too.”Colyer and the other seniors shared a moment at the end of the match at the middle of the court as they hugged each other and received a hearty ovation from the Field House crowd before stepping off the court for the last time in a Badger uniform.“Told them I love them, go out to center court and you soak it all in and stay as long as you want,” Sheffield said. “Because it doesn’t get any better than this.”Una Vajagic’s growth evident against formidable blocking teamUna Vajagic’s growth this season was evident as the redshirt sophomore had 12 kills and hit for .435 – the highest percentage among any of UW’s outside hitters. Vajagic now has 10-plus kills in seven of Wisconsin’s last eight matches after reaching the 10-kill mark only twice in UW’s first seven matches of the season.The Serbia native’s numbers are even more impressive when considering who she was going up against in the second round. North Carolina ranked fifth in the NCAA in the regular season with 2.92 blocks per set and 17th nationally with an opponents’ hitting percentage of .169.“These two hitting over .400 against one of the best blocking teams in the country is just a ridiculous number,” Sheffield said with Vajagic and Colyer at the press conference dais with him. “And they got some blocks on us, but we stayed aggressive. We continued to accelerate and hit good shots and know when to be patient and when to get after it.”Badgers get taste of what’s ahead in third setNorth Carolina put up much more of a fight in the third set than in the first two sets. After two total ties and one lead change in the first two sets combined, there were 19 ties and 10 lead changes in the third set.The Tar Heels had 10 kills in each of the first two sets and then recorded 17 kills in the third set. They went from hitting .146 and .235 in the first two sets to hitting .317 in the third set.“Third set could have gone either way,” North Carolina coach Mike Schall said. “They made a couple moves at the end that paid off for them that we’d certainly like to have back.”The third set was symbolic of what lies ahead for the Badgers in a couple different ways.On one hand, it more closely resembles the challenge that Wisconsin will likely face in the regional semifinals – and later rounds if UW continues to advance in the tournament. The Badgers await the winner of second-seeded Stanford and Arizona, with the Cardinal being the heavy favorite.It also gave the 5,371 fans in attendance a taste of how some younger players who have not occupied major on-court roles yet can make an impact. Sophomore defensive specialist Maile Chan subbed in to serve as UW won its next two points.“Maile made some really big-time digs,” Sheffield said.Trinity Shadd-Ceres – the sophomore outside hitter from Canada who has experienced injury misfortune – also subbed in and recorded an assist and block assist right away.“It wasn’t just the block,” Sheffield said. “It was the block move that she made. I can’t wait to go back and watch the film of that. But they’re capable of doing that, and we’ve got more than just six or seven people that can play.Shadd-Ceres then was the one after the match to put Wisconsin’s name placard on a poster displaying the portion of the bracket that was hosted in Madison. The idea for the up-and-coming sophomore to be the one to do that came from one of UW’s seniors who was playing in her final match at the Field House.“Carter (Booth) told her she was going to do it; most of us tend to listen to Carter when she says something,” Sheffield said with a laugh. “I think that was a moment that just shows how proud people were of somebody who just continues to work and be a great teammate, whose moment was coming. And she was ready for that moment.”This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from Wisconsin Badgers’ NCAA tournament win vs North Carolina