After a terrific couple of weekends at home, sporting a 5-0 record including emotional wins against national powerhouses Minnesota and UCLA, the No. 8 UW volleyball team (10-1, 2-0 Big Ten) heads back into hostile territory this weekend.
With two very tough Big Ten matchups coming up in the form of No. 19 Purdue (11-2, 0-2) and Illinois (10-3, 1-1), the Badgers need to play well if they are going to continue their quest for a Big Ten title.
\We're a very determined team,"" senior co-captain Sheila Shaw said. ""We know what we're going for this year, and that's a Big Ten championship.""
Although Wisconsin has an epic battle coming up next Friday with No. 4 Penn State, by no means can they look past Purdue or Illinois. Both teams are quite strong on the attack, boasting similar attack percentages to UW.
The Badgers will have to focus intensely on defense, but this is nothing new, as they lead the Big Ten in both blocks and digs per game. Sophomore libero Jocelyn Wack leads the team in digs. Her streak of matches with double-digit digs has reached 42, and she has help. Sophomore Megan Mills and juniors Maria Carlini and Amanda Berkley have all contributed lately (all had 10 digs against Minnesota). Wisconsin also has two of the best blockers in the Big Ten, as Shaw and sophomore Taylor Reineke are tied for second in blocks with 1.69 per game.
""One of our main focuses of this year is to be a strong defensive team,"" Carlini said. ""Defense is what is going to win us games, so we've been working a lot on defense.""
The first obstacle blocking the Badgers' quest is Purdue on Friday. The Boilermakers definitely did not start their Big Ten season the way they planned, losing to No. 16 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State ending their 11 match winning streak. In looking to achieve their first conference victory, they will use effective serving as well as an unrelenting attack.
Freshman Danita Merlau leads the team in kills with 3.29 kills per game while senior Renata Dargan sets up the offense with nearly 13 assists per game. On defense will be sophomore Anne Mastandrea who gets an impressive 5.11 digs per game.
Saturday will bring on Illinois. A team on the cusp of the top 25, the Illini got a moral victory last weekend, as they beat No. 16 Ohio State but lost to No. 4 Penn State. They have the best attacker in the Big Ten in senior Rachel VanMeter, who averages a dangerous 5.96 kills per game. Sophomore Vicki Brown contributes a block a game and has the best hitting percentage on the team. With two starters from Illinois (Reineke and sophomore Jackie Simpson), Wisconsin may bring a little extra motivation to the table and a few more encouraging fans to Champaign.
