The march to the NCAA tournament is on, and with just six more conference matches left to play, the UW volleyball team is hoping to add to their current five match win streak in an effort to build momentum going into the post season. Wisconsin (11-3 Big Ten, 19-5 overall) will take on Northwestern (7-7, 13-10) and Illinois (5-9, 14-10) this weekend at the Field House in a pair of matches that will likely have great implications in the Big Ten standings.
If the Badgers can claim victory in both matches, they would take sole possession of second place with a Minnesota loss on Friday or Saturday night. More importantly, Wisconsin would strengthen its chances of potentially moving into first place in the Big Ten. With No. 23 Ohio State's upset win over No. 3 Penn State on Wednesday night, the Badgers are still in the hunt for the conference title, but need help from at least two of the teams that remain on Penn State's schedule in order to take the crown.
""We say every Big Ten weekend is big—because it is,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said after practice on Tuesday. ""[Look at] what happened to Minnesota last weekend at Michigan: they lost and they really shouldn't have and that really surprised them. But anybody can wake up at any time and have a hot night, and that's what teams like Illinois and Northwestern coming in this weekend are trying to do. They're trying to have that big win that will catapult them into a shot at the NCAA tournament bid.""
Despite the fact that neither Northwestern nor Illinois has a winning record in the conference, Wisconsin is not taking this weekend's competition lightly. The Wildcats silently slipped into fifth place in the conference last weekend after winning a pair of games on the road.
""Northwestern is kind of like us, a very balanced team,"" Waite said. ""They don't have any single person or two that are putting up big numbers, but on any given night three or four will, so that's the kind of team you've got to be really wary of.""
The Illini also have the potential to take a match off of Wisconsin with their strong offensive attack. Outside hitter Kayani Turner currently leads the Big Ten in kills per game, while setter Lizzie Bazzetta holds the best average per game in assists. The Illini also rank first in the conference in service aces per game.
However, the Badgers should be able to counter the tough Illinois offense with a strong blocking game. Wisconsin is currently the fifth best blocking team in the nation, led by junior middle blocker Taylor Reineke and senior middle blocker Amy Bladow, who are averaging 1.68 and 1.27 blocks per game respectively.
""You can't look too far ahead in the Big Ten,"" Bladow said. ""We're taking every team that we see every weekend as a potential threat, as a potential loss basically. We want to make sure that we take everybody seriously and don't overlook anyone. But at the same time, going into the NCAA with an 11-match winning streak would be huge for us. That's obviously a big confidence booster and that's obviously going to help our seating and potentially [give us] home court advantage.""
Badgers sign two
Waite announced the signings of two recruits Thursday, both of whom will join the team in 2007.
Allison Wack of Salem, Wis., and Kim Kuzma of Muncie, Ind signed their National Letters of Intent.
Wack is the younger sister of current Badger Jocelyn Wack.
