The UW women's volleyball team is on the road this weekend to play Big Ten conference matches against Indiana and Illinois.
Last weekend, the Badgers opened the conference at home with wins against Michigan and Michigan State.
Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite said he is pleased with how the season has started.
'The fact that we got the two wins was nice, and it shows a lot of respect for the Big Ten,' Waite said.
Senior setter and captain Lizzy Fitzgerald said she also feels good about the start of the season.
'We really played well together and communicated really well,' Fitzgerald said. 'That is really positive to see at the beginning of the Big Ten.'
Despite the wins, Waite said he feels the team still needs improvement.
'We still need to work on being more consistent with our left-side hitters,' Waite said. 'We need to find [senior blocker] Sherisa [Livingston] even more. She's a great player and if we can give her even more balls, she can be even more offensive.'
To prepare for this weekend's matches against the Hoosiers and the Fighting Illini, the team has been working on individual and team skills.
'We need to focus on playing well against them [Indiana and Illinois],' Waite said. 'It is too easy to overlook a team and think that we can play relaxed ball. We can't.'
The team is looking toward the younger players to take on bigger roles, according to Fitzgerald.
'Junior outside hitter] Lori Rittenhouse has done a great job of coming in and she's doing an awesome job,' Fitzgerald said. '[Senior outside hitter] Erin Byrd has stepped into a leadership role and has taken a lot more responsibility.'
Livingston said she is confident in the team's abilities.
'We want to win the Big Ten, and it's going to hard to be undefeated. But I think our team has more than enough capabilities to do that,' Livingston said. 'I would love to win a national title, but that is easier said than done.'
Even though UW is off to a good start, Fitzgerald said the team knows their work is cut out for them.
'The [Big Ten] is such a tough conference that we have to prepare just as hard for every other team, especially with the new rally scoring,' Fitzgerald said. 'Games are going to be a lot closer and we can't afford to over look anyone.'
