The No. 15 Wisconsin volleyball team (14-6 Big Ten, 23-8 overall) finished regular season play with a pair of wins over Michigan (10-10, 16-4) and Michigan State (11-9, 19-11) last weekend.
This capped a season where Wisconsin took second place overall in the Big Ten and saw three of its team members earning Big Ten honors. Senior outside hitter Erin Byrd was a unanimous selection to the all-Big Ten team along with junior setter Morgan Shields. Freshman middle blocker Sheila Shaw was named to the freshman honor team. Wisconsin played well enough in the regular season to earn its seventh consecutive berth in the NCAA tournament and overall the team is pleased with its second-place finish.
\I think second is really strong, the conference was very strong this year with eight teams getting into the [NCAA] tournament and a lot of people beating each other,"" Byrd said. ""It was very hard to win on the road this year, for us to come out second in the conference is great.""
One of the main turning points in the season for the sometimes rocky Badgers was a win over No. 16 Penn State (14-6, 24-7) in Happy Valley Oct. 26. This was one of the preseason goals that the Badgers had and by accomplishing this they gained a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.
""I think beating Penn State at Happy Valley was huge, [it] was absolutely huge and I think that kind of propelled us forward,"" Shields said.
""We've only lost two games since we beat Penn State. One of the themes was [beat] Penn State, but that is a hard thing to do and we were back there questioning our identity and that win said 'Yes, you can,' so it was big.""
Wisconsin was able to bounce back from many of its early season losses to Big Ten teams by coming back and beating them in the second match. The only team that the Badgers did not beat at least once this season was No. 9 Minnesota, (17-3, 30-5) the Big Ten conference champ.
Constant improvement helped the Badgers finish the season strong.
""I think almost every player became more disciplined in their technique, more disciplined in their team play,"" UW Head Coach Pete Waite said.
""More trusting of each other and their coaches on the court, and when those things start falling into place you can really make some great progress and I think they started seeing that and seeing it work.""
Wisconsin starts post-season play Friday when it takes on the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (24-7) at home in the first round of the tournament. Alabama, which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship, is headed for its third consecutive NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs will be bringing some young players to the Field House with the play of sophomore setter Princess Dixson, who was the most valuable player in the SWAC, and the power of freshman outside hitter Alex Brazleton.
With young players of its own to initiate in the 'Big Dance,' Wisconsin is looking forward to postseason play.
""I expect to come out really tough, really fighting for the game, every match, every night in this tournament,"" Shields said. ""We've always preached that we're a group of fighters and it's time to show that.""
The intense volleyball action starts at 7 p.m. Friday night in the Field House.
