The No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) volleyball team started the year off right with two three-game sweeps against the New Hampshire Wildcats (1-2) and the Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (0-3) at last weekend's Badger Invitational. They could not, however, escape an upset sweep at the hands of the Washington Huskies (3-0).
The past weekend also marked the debut of several Wisconsin freshman, including blocker Maria Carlini, Lindsey Boler, Kirin Swanson and Amy Bladow.
\We were able to get some other players in the game, some freshmen that don't normally get court time, and just get them over their jitters and to get them to understand the level they need to play,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite said.
On Friday night, the Badgers had little trouble getting past the Wildcats, with scores of 30-18, 30-28 and 30-18. The team had to rally from a 15-20 deficit in the second game, but successive kills from junior outside hitter Jill Odenthal and senior outside hitter Lisa Zukowski helped propel Wisconsin into the lead and eventually the win.
Sophomore outside hitter Aubrey Meierotto set a new Wisconsin three-game match record with seven service aces. Senior libero Jill Maier also set a career high in digs with 19.
On Saturday afternoon, the Badgers disposed of New Hampshire, by scores of 30-17, 30-14 and 30-18 in a match that lasted only 70 minutes. Odenthal led the team in kills again with 14 while Zukowski led the team in digs with nine.
""It was a good win for us to get,"" Waite said. ""I thought a lot of our starters did a pretty good job out there. Odenthal did well, Zukowski was just solid and we were able to rest Aubrey Meierotto. I am happy with the win and now we move to tonight.""
In Saturday's night game, Wisconsin tried to rally in all three games, but it was the Huskies' tall team that proved dominant, sweeping the Badgers 26-30, 27-30, 26-30 and winning the Badger Invitational title.
""I'm disappointed in the loss here,"" Waite said. ""But I'm also glad we had some good competition ... they taught us how hard we've got to work and how consistent we've got to be throughout the match.""
The Huskies' front line dominated the Badgers in blocks 21-12 while minimizing their errors compared to Wisconsin's 18-28. One bright spot in the game for the Badgers was Odenthal, who set a career high in kills with 22 over the course of the match. Senior setter Morgan Shields had 50 assists in the game and 123 assists over the course of the weekend. Washington sophomore libero Candace Lee had a very solid game, with 16 digs and only one error.
""I'm happy with the way I hit, but there are other areas of my game that I need to improve,"" Odenthal said. ""The biggest thing I'm proud of tonight is the way our younger players kept their composure on the court.""
Odenthal and Meierotto were named to the Badger Invitational All-Tournament team. Washington junior outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic, who had 18 kills and two service aces against Wisconsin, was named the tournament's most valuable player.
