After getting swept at Minnesota last Friday the Badger volleyball team responded by sweeping the Hawkeyes in Iowa City on Saturday. Now the Badgers return home to square off against Indiana and Purdue.
Indiana (0-6 Big Ten, 6-11 overall) and Purdue (3-3, 10-6) are both coming off home losses to Ohio State and Penn State, respectively, and both have obvious goals to regain ground in the Big Ten.
Indiana will shoot for its first victory in Big Ten play, and try to get out of the conference cellar. Meanwhile Purdue has the same goal as Wisconsin: to move into the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Purdue and UW are currently tied for sixth place in the Big Ten and both can move into fifth place if they win both of their weekend matches.
Even with what is at stake, the Badgers will be on alert. This is the first time in four weekends the Badgers will not be playing a ranked opponent, but that doesn't mean that they will take the Boilermakers or the last-place Hoosiers lightly.
\They have some really good athletes on Indiana's team so we're definitely not going to overlook them at all,"" co-captain Aubrey Meierotto said.
""We're just going to come in and play aggressive all night and do the same thing Saturday.""
If the Badgers want to be successful this weekend, they are going to have to get big contributions from sophomore middle blocker Maria Carlini and sophomore setter Katie Lorenzen. But if recent history is any indicator, Wisconsin will have nothing to worry about.
Carlini, who recently made the shift from middle blocker to left side hitter, tied a career high last weekend with 13 kills vs. Minnesota, and then set a new personal record with 17 kills vs. Iowa. In her three starts she has been hitting .303, averaging 2.30 digs, 0.60 blocks, and leading the team with 4.30 kills.
""She's really stepped it up and gotten a lot of confidence on the outside."" Lorenzen said, referring to Carlini's recent shift from middle blocker to left side hitter. ""When she came in and has done really well it's given her the confidence that she knows what she can do. She's been hitting the ball very well.""
Lorenzen has been another essential component to the Badgers success, setting the Badgers average 17.23 kills per game and a .286 hitting percentage, both of put her at third in the Big Ten.
""She's been doing great. I think all of the hitters have been able to connect with her really well,"" Meierotto said. ""She's been working really hard on defense and offense so that everything has been fitting in place and going real well.""
The Badgers will also benefit from their proficiency in blocking, UW leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation with 3.39 blocks per game. A large reason for this success is due to Sheila Shaw and Taylor Reineke who are ranked second and third in the Big Ten in blocking.
""It's a huge credit to them because they're both such hard workers, they're very disciplined and work their butts of to get every single block,"" Lorenzen said.
""We've just really been focusing a lot on blocking and defense,"" Carlini added. ""That's what we've been focusing a lot on this year.""
If all goes well the weekend, the Badgers will have an opportunity to move even higher up the Big Ten ladder next weekend when they play at Michigan and Michigan State.
The weekend series begins at the Fieldhouse against Indiana on Friday at 7 p.m. and then Saturday against Purdue at 7 p.m.
