With a successful first half to its season, going 10-0 in the Big Ten and 16-2 overall, the Badgers' volleyball team is prepared for a battle this weekend when the team heads on the road to Ohio State (17-1, 9-1) Friday and Penn State (14-4, 7-3) Saturday.
'We expect to win,' UW senior setter Lizzy Fitzgerald said. 'We're prepared for a battle. If we do what we need to do, and do our game plan, we'll come out with a win.'
The Badgers played Penn State and Ohio State earlier this month, sweeping both teams in three games.
However, this does not necessarily mean this weekend will be easier for the Badgers, who extended their Big Ten winning streak to 14 matches after defeating Minnesota and Iowa this weekend.
One of Ohio State's key players, senior outside hitter Anne Botica, was out with a knee injury the last time the Badgers faced the Buckeyes. Now she's healthy and could cause some problems for Wisconsin.
'Seeing them play helps a lot, but on the other hand, Ohio State was missing Botica [who] is a big player for them who gets a lot of their sets and scores a lot, so it'll be a whole other challenge,' UW Head Coach Pete Waite said.
While the Badgers' home record remains strong'UW hasn't lost at home since Sept. 29, 2000'Waite sees being on the road as an advantage to the team.
'In ways I think being on the road is easier,' Waite said. 'Once you get on the road you can focus on your own team. You don't have school. You have less family and friends you're dealing with before the match and sometimes they play loose and well.'
While senior middle blocker Sherisa Livingston said playing on the road can be more difficult, she also said road games can be beneficial in preparing for future tournaments.
'The road stimulates the hard, one elimination competition that we'll be having,' Livingston said. 'It stimulates how tough it'll be on our bodies playing the tough competition.'
Under the leadership of Fitzgerald, who leads the Big Ten in assists, and Livingston, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Monday and recently broke the UW all-time kills record, the Badgers hope to continue improving as they prepare for the Big Ten Tournament and a potential berth in the NCAA Tournament.
'We've been committed to doing well and every day we come in to practice with a better attitude about playing,' Livingston said. 'I think we want to improve on last year. We had a great record last year and it's going to be hard to do that, but we have higher goals and expectations.'
In order to meet those goals and improve on last year's first-place finish in the Big Ten and second place finish in the NCAA Tournament, Waite said the team needs to stay hungry.
'When you're at the top, everybody's after you and you've really got to fight to stay on top,' he said. 'We've been working on that in practice. We make sure they are still improving and changing things to keep things fresh to help them understand what great things can come with a few wins ahead.'
