The No. 23 Wisconsin volleyball team began its season inauspiciously Friday night when it fell to unranked Missouri in four games, but managed to salvage the weekend with a sensational victory over the No. 12 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in five games. The Badgers finished this weekend's Badger Challenge with a record of 1-1-impressive to say the least considering that they struggled mightily in their first match but rallied against an even stronger opponent the next night to pick up the victory.
\That was a big win for our program,"" Head Coach Pete Waite said following a dramatic but draining match Saturday. ""It was really exciting just to see our players really step up against a very good team, to play consistently through the fifth game and to just battle with everything they had.""
The five-game thriller in front of a raucous Field House crowd featured 26.5 blocks between the two teams and produced a total of 153 kills.
Wisconsin junior outside hitter Aubrey Meierotto tallied the first double-double of her career as she led her team with 20 kills and a career-high 23 digs. Her spectacular performance on offense and defense set the table for junior middle blocker Sheila Shaw, senior outside hitter Jill Odenthal, and sophomore middle blocker Amy Bladow-all of whom made a solid contribution to the win finishing with double figures in kills.
Georgia Tech was led by senior outside hitter Lynette Moster who recorded 26 kills and 15 digs, but the Badgers countered with a team effort and were able to topple the Jackets in a match that went right down to the wire.
UW took the first game with relative ease as it looked sharp from the start, taking the first game 30-22, but faltering in the second game as the Jackets returned the favor to beat the Badgers by a four point margin and tied the match at 1-1. After the second game there were signs that the fans were in for a treat as the level of competition increased with every serve. Games three and four were mirror images of the first two as Wisconsin again won 30-22 before allowing Georgia Tech to fight its way back to stay alive and tie the match again-this time at 2-2.
The Jackets jumped out to a 9-4 lead and seemed as though they would absolutely refuse to relinquish the lead and render their previous comeback inconsequential-but the Badgers were the team which would not be denied.
""Only in the fourth game did we go flat a little bit, but I think that had a lot to do with them stepping up in the fifth,"" Waite said.
With the match being so highly contested, controversy was practically inevitable and eventually reared its ugly head late in the fifth game when the two teams were tied at 16. Thanks to a Georgia Tech line violation-one which the Jackets' players and staff vehemently argued-Wisconsin was awarded the 17th point of the game after it had first been given to Georgia Tech. The disagreement on the sideline was later rendered trivial at best as UW could not convert match-point and reached another tie with a score of 17-17.
Once the score was tied at 18 in the deciding fifth game, Meierotto again took over hammering back-to-back kills to seal the victory.
""I was just out there knowing that I needed to get the job done on those last two swings,"" Meierotto said. ""I just went up aggressive no matter what. If I had double blocking on me, I was just going to pound through it.""
Such determination certainly does not waiver with this team, though Friday night against Missouri it was not enough to make up for the lack of execution. The Tigers coasted 3-1 dropping only the second game 30-25.
""We definitely broke down in our passing,"" Odenthal said.
She had her team's only double-double, and sixth of her career, with 14 kills and a career-high 12 digs.
""All the little things that we've been working on to keep together really came apart. We went through spurts where we just could not put a play together.""
However, all is well for the time being. The Badgers possess a perfect record versus ranked opponents this season, and will look to build upon their success when they travel to Lawrence, Kan. this weekend for the Kansas Invitational.
