The Wisconsin women's volleyball team (4-0 Big Ten, 12-2 overall) will look to stay undefeated in Big Ten play this weekend when they take on Ohio State (2-2, 12-2) and Penn State (4-0, 15-0) on the road.
The Badgers are coming off a sweep of then-No. 24 Michigan last Saturday. The Badgers outscored the Wolverines 30-24, 30-19, 30-16 in front of 4,679 fans at the UW Field House. Wisconsin will again have their hands full this weekend, as Ohio State is ranked No. 14 and Penn State is ranked No. 2 in the nation. The Badgers however, seem to be up to the challenge.
""This is a huge weekend for us, Ohio State is a high ranked team right next to us in the rankings, and Penn State is awesome, they're second in the country right now,"" head coach Pete Waite said. ""They've done well on their home court for a long time, but I feel we are playing really well coming out of this last weekend at home. They're playing well as a unit, the defense is playing well starting the offense, I think it is a good test for us and you walk into the match and see what you can do.""
Wisconsin will definitely be tested this weekend against Penn State. The Nittany Lions enter the weekend after sweeping Indiana and now-No. 9 Purdue last weekend on the road. Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Fawcett and freshman outside hitter Megan Hodge lead the Nittany Lion attack with 4.58 and 4.53 kills per game. Big Ten Co-Player of the Week sophomore middle hitter Christa Harmotto chips in 3.16 kills per game on a nation and league-leading .506 hitting percentage. The Badgers know the importance of this weekend's match against Penn State.
""It's definitely a statement match, just because they're No. 1 and we're No. 2,"" freshman Brittany Dolgner said. ""It's gonna be a battle for the Big Ten, so it's going to be a big match.""
As for Ohio State, they will look for offense from junior Danielle Meyer, who is averaging a team high 5.23 kills per game. Marisa Main, a senior from Louisville leads the team with a .433 hitting percentage and 13.04 assists per game. Defensively, Ami Stevens leads the team with a 3.43 digs per game average.
The Badgers have five players averaging more than two kills per game, led by senior outside hitter Maria Carlini with 3.64 and Dolgner with 3.43. Junior setter Jackie Simpson dishes out an average of 12.96 assists per game, while junior libero Jocelyn Wack leads the team with a 4.62 digs per game average. This weekend's matches may not be easy, but Wisconsin is confident they will perform well due to their team chemistry and hard work ethic.
""We're really gelling as a team right now, and we still have a lot of work that we need to do,"" Carlini said. ""But we're climbing the mountain, we're doing really well and, one step at a time, that's why every day at practice we're really working hard.""
