There are two intriguing facts that Wisconsin setter Jackie Simpson, middle blocker Taylor Reineke, libero Jocelyn Wack, outside hitter Audra Jeffers and middle blocker Maya Carroll have in common. Each player either leads the team or has a share in the top spot for assists, blocks per game, digs, solo blocks and hitting percentage respectively thus far this season.
But interestingly enough, each of those players also happens to be from the same recruiting class. Together with outstanding defensive specialists Megan Mills and Amanda Berkley, the seven players who came to play volleyball for Wisconsin as freshmen in 2004 have formed the core of a team that has enjoyed great success for the past two years and looks to do the same again this year.
""They've been doing a great job,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said of his juniors. ""That class came in as freshman and went to the Elite Eight freshman and sophomore year, and really surprised everybody nationally when they beat Hawaii—who was undefeated—their first year. And it wasn't just our scholarship players. We have a couple of walk-ons in that group with Megan Mills and Amanda Berkley who have gotten a lot of court time in their three years with us now.""
With all of the hype surrounding this year's highly-touted freshman class, Waite still points to Simpson, Reineke, Wack, Jeffers, Carrol, Mills and Berkley as an upper echelon in the realm of recruiting classes, and with good reason. While freshman outside hitter Brittney Dolgner's outstanding match performances have made headlines early this season, the juniors quietly continue to put up brilliant numbers outside of the limelight.
In the last two years, Simpson moved in to take over as the starting setter over proven senior Katie Lorenzen. Reineke earned 2005 All-Big Ten Team honors thanks in part to her Big Ten-leading 1.72 blocks per game. Jeffers' team-leading 382 kills landed her on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last year after redshirting in 2004. Carroll, who doubles as a high jumper on the UW track team, poses a threat for opposing front line. Mills played in 105 of 115 games last year while Berkley saw action in 112 games and each had better than 1.5 digs per game. Perhaps most noteworthy, Wack continues to push her current NCAA record of 76 consecutive matches with double-digit digs further and further out of reach for player in the nation hoping to rival it.
""Usually it's something that just happens,"" Wack said about getting 10 or more digs in every match. ""There is some pressure, because after every match, I always hear from fans, ‘Did you get your 10? Did you get your 10?' So there is that little added pressure, but once you're in the game you don't really think about it. You think about just winning and going after the ball.""
""Jo has always had a great knack for defense,"" Waite said. ""She actually was, in high school, the Gatorade player of the year as an all-around player—including an attacker. She actually gave that up to be our top defensive player. But she just really closes [on] the ball, reads the hitters well, and is not afraid of anybody.""
One of the most beneficial aspects of having such a large class is the chemistry that it creates. With having all seven players going through the same experiences since freshman year, each of the juniors has had the chance to gel with one another as teammates on and off the court. Since the juniors account for nearly half of the entire team, that proves to be a valuable asset during games.
""I lived with four of the other girls in the class last year, and then this year I live with Jackie and Audra again,"" Wack said. ""I don't know if [that] necessarily brings us together more, but we know our tendencies. Even just playing together for how long we have, we know our tendencies and we know when each other is getting down or we're in a rough spot. It always helps to bring each other up, and just having that chemistry between us juniors, it helps us grow better as a team too.""
Having so many players at the same age level, Waite is well aware of the fact that he will lose six of the seven very talented players after the 2007 season, as Jeffers will still have senior eligibility. Nonetheless, he certainly has no regrets about taking them all under his wing at one time.
""We'll have a lot of holes to fill, that's for sure,"" Waite said. ""But that happens sometimes, and it just was strange that we had that big of a class. It's nothing we planned, but when it falls together and you can get that many good players in a group, you don't want to pass that up.""
