After three straight weekends of competition against Top 25 opponents, the No. 11 Wisconsin volleyball team (6-2 Big Ten, 14-4 overall) will gear up to take on yet another ranked conference rival tonight when it battles No. 17 Minnesota (7-1, 13-5) for second place in the Big Ten at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. The Badgers are coming off a pair of impressive wins against former No. 9 Purdue and Indiana this past weekend, sweeping both of their opponents in three games without the help of outstanding senior outside hitter Maria Carlini.
It is safe to say that the Badgers have recovered since their disappointing road losses against Ohio State and Penn State two weeks ago. Their defense put up big blocks at critical times and out-dug their opponents by at least 15 in both games against Purdue and Indiana this weekend. Junior middle blocker Taylor Reineke currently leads the Big Ten in blocking with the most blocks per game, total blocks and blocking assists in the conference. Senior middle blocker Amy Bladow is only four slots behind Reineke on the Big Ten blocking leader board.
In addition to outstanding defensive performances, Wisconsin has gotten to see a new contributor on the offense in the absence of Carlini. Freshman outside hitter Caity DuPont has been getting significant playing time in all three games since Carlini was pulled from the lineup against Penn State and has since accumulated a solid .386 hitting percentage on 44 kills and two service aces in conference play.
""I feel like I have nothing to lose,"" DuPont said of playing off the bench in place of Carlini. ""I'm expected to get in there and help out the team. I'm just really excited to be in there and actually be doing that.""
Carlini practiced with the starting unit on Tuesday afternoon but is still questionable for today's match.
Wisconsin will have its hands full when it takes the court tonight, as the Golden Gophers are on a hot streak right now. Minnesota has the best conference record behind No. 2 Penn State and also claimed wins against Indiana and Purdue last weekend in a similar fashion as Wisconsin—a pair of three-and-outs. Between winning 10 of their last 11 games and earning the victory against a tough Purdue team, Minnesota moved up six spots Monday from No. 23 to No. 17 on the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
""They're a team that has a great tradition of being on top of the Big Ten,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""They prepare well and they're a big team. They've got a 6'4' hitter [Kyla] Roehrig out there. [Kelly] Bowman is such a well-rounded player ... she's a great ball handler and, I think, a real leader on the team.""
Roehrig and middle blocker Meredith Nelson will likely be the biggest offensive threat to the Badgers. They have been averaging .250 and .299 and have combined for 452 kills so far this year. On the defensive side of the ball, libero Malama Peniata has averaged a Big Ten-leading 5.62 digs per game.
""[We] know every match is huge,"" Waite said. ""You can't walk into any gym in the Big Ten now and take anybody for granted. [Minnesota] is a team who right now has a ranking below us, but going into their gym, you've got to feel like we're the underdogs going in. We've got to battle to get that win.""
