'That's the way a team's supposed to be playing come tournament time.'
UW volleyball head coach Pete Waite summed up his team's tournament performance well, as Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16 with sweeps over Loyola (Ill.) and No. 16 California. The Badgers' second consecutive advancement to the regionals was largely aided by the play of their two seniors, Sheila Shaw and Aubrey Meierotto, in the last home games of their careers.
'The feeling is pretty indescribable knowing that we're going to the Sweet 16 and hopefully continue our journey to the Final Four,' Shaw said.
'The whole experience of playing here has just been unbelievable and ending just like that is a really good feeling,' Meierotto said.
Almost from the opening serve, it was clear that the 13-17 Loyola team was overmatched against the bigger Badgers (25-6). Falling behind early in the first game, the Ramblers rarely got into a rhythm offensively, with the match ultimately ending 30-18, 30-26, 30-14. Junior Maria Carlini had a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, while Shaw had 10 kills, seven blocks, and a .625 hitting percentage.
Saturday night brought the real showdown, as Cal appeared unfazed by the unfamiliar white flakes falling from the sky outside the Field House. Both teams came out firing, but the sophomore block party of Jackie Simpson and Taylor Reineke proved too much for the Golden Bears to handle as UW won the first game 30-23.
The second game brought about much of the same defensive prowess, as California could never really get their offense going. Only one of their hitters had more kills than errors as the Badger defense smothered them into a dismal negative .103 hitting percentage, leading to a UW win, 30-22.
Game three saw California hit .350 as a team and Angie Pressey catching fire with eight kills on nine attempts. That should have been enough for the Golden Bears to extend the match, but a .436 hitting percentage for Wisconsin would end up finishing Cal's season, 30-25.
All of the UW starters came through in this one. Simpson had a double-double with 37 assists and 10 digs to go along with her six kills and five blocks. Shaw and Meierotto combined for 24 kills, while Reineke had nine blocks. Sophomore Jocelyn Wack also continued her storied streak, as her 15 digs put her at 62 straight matches with double-figure digs, one off the NCAA record.
