They've got game. Despite the fact that the team lost three of its top players to graduation and three crucial players are injured, the UW volleyball team is out to prove they've got the depth and the drive to compete against global competition.
Wisconsin will face off against the Chinese Elite Team Saturday at LaFollette High School in Madison in its spring game, in what will be an opportunity for the women to display their skills they've acquired through hard work and practice.
The team has overcome several adversities since the NCAA Tournament in December to build a team capable of producing a threat on the court. The loss of seniors setter Lizzy Fitzgerald, defensive specialist Sara Urbanek and middle blocker Sherisa Livingston have left voids in the team that the younger players are attempting to fill.
\I think it's a big transition,"" junior setter Morgan Shields said. ""We relied on [the three of] them to do a lot of things and now the responsibility is kind of spread out between all the players and we're kind of evolving to take on personalities more as a team.""
Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Zukowski said the team is playing well, despite the loss of the seniors, but they need to focus on the finer aspects of the game. ""We have to focus on other things'defense, ball-handling ... improving smaller parts of our game.""
Along with the loss of the seniors, the team this spring had to deal with the loss of key players Zukowski, Shields and junior outside hitter Erin Byrd. They have suffered injuries that forced the younger players to step up on the court, which caused the team to rework the lineup.
""This has been kind of an odd spring,"" assistant coach Rod Wilde said. ""We haven't had the team on the court that we were hoping to. ... We had people playing out of position ... yet, they've been going out and performing at a pretty high level.""
Byrd said the adjustments in the lineup have benefited the team by strengthening the freshmen.
""This spring season actually has been a good thing,"" Byrd said. ""It's given the freshmen who are going to be sophomores tons of opportunities to play.""
Shields believes the games this weekend will strengthen the bond the team is developing.
""I think ... [to] overcome the hurdles we were given,"" Shields said. ""Just fighting through that, we could become even more tight of a team.""
Wilde agrees that victories in the next weekend would boost the team's morale.
""To come out and at least be very competitive and, if at all possible, win, would be marvelous just from the standpoint that it would help our confidence of going into next fall,"" Wilde said.
