Badgers-Gophers match was most viewed in volleyball history, surpassing UW’s National Championship in 2021

The University of Wisconsin volleyball team now has three of the most watched games ever.

The first-ever volleyball match that aired on Fox Sunday night drew the largest viewership in the sport’s history.

The Border Battle between No. 2 Wisconsin and Minnesota wasn’t much of a game — the Badgers won 3-0 — but it drew 1.66 million viewers.

It’s becoming a growing trend, as women’s sports gets the recognition and the platforms it deserves to allow fans to watch — both at home and in person.

Sunday’s match surpassed the previous record, when the Badgers beat Nebraska 3-2 for the 2021 National Championship that aired on ESPN and had 1.2 million views.

Up until Sunday night, those two teams also had the most viewed regular-season match, when the top-ranked Badgers fell to No. 2 Nebraska 3-2 two weekends ago, which drew 612,000 views on the Big Ten Network.

Of course, the Badgers win over the Gophers now makes that game the second-most watched regular-season match.

The popularity of women’s sports is finally getting a foothold on a national stage. Back in August, Nebraska volleyball hosted a match outdoors at the “football” stadium, which saw a record-breaking 92,0003 fans show up. That was the largest crowd at a women’s event in world history.

It also broke another record the Badgers had for largest crowd at an NCAA volleyball match. Nebraska and Wisconsin — again — set that record with 18,755 fans in that 2021 National Title match. The Badgers also had the largest regular-season game until Nebraska played outdoors, with 16,833 fans at the Kohl Center against Florida in 2022.

The Badgers (20-1, 11-1) next game is Wednesday against 19th-ranked Purdue (14-7, 8-4).

TOP PHOTO: FILE – Wisconsin’s third-ranked volleyball team celebrates a win over No. 5 Nebraska to clinch a fourth-consecutive Big Ten title on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 (PHOTO: @BadgersVB on Twitter)