Following a pair of sensational victories against now No. 3 Penn State and No. 25 Ohio State last weekend, the No. 10 UW volleyball team (9-3 Big Ten, 17-5 overall) will look to continue its winning ways as it goes on the road to face Michigan and Michigan State this weekend. Despite the fact that the Badgers will be facing two non-ranked opponents for the first time since mid-September, the team does not underestimate the abilities of their Big Ten opponents.
""[Michigan State is] a good team with a couple of really strong attackers and a very strong setter,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""They're the kind of the team that, as the course of the Big Ten season has gone on, have kind of risen toward the top of the Big Ten very quietly ... Michigan is the kind of team that can catch fire at any time. They took a game off of Penn State at Penn State. Very few people have ever done that. They have the ability to pick it up when need be.""
Wisconsin's most recent successes stem from an improved serve and pass game that Waite has been emphasizing at practice week in and week out. Last weekend, the Badgers served up seven aces against the Nittany Lions at critical times that secured the win against one of the toughest defensive teams in the country. Sunday's game against Ohio State was a testament to the receiving and passing game, as Wisconsin outdug the Buckeyes 47 to 26.
The impressive passing also allowed junior setter Jackie Simpson to run the offense with incredible efficiency, which earned her the title of Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I National Player of the Week—the first time a Wisconsin player has been given the honor since Lizzy Fitzgerald in 2001.
""Ever since the Penn State match [on Oct. 7], we've really refocused on it,"" Waite said. ""We're always working on it. It's not something we avoid, but it's something we went even harder as a team with and really made them concentrate on. It really paid off last weekend.""
But the Badgers' biggest concern may not have anything to do with offense, defense, or fundamentals when they travel to Michigan this weekend. Rather, Wisconsin needs to find a way to carry the energy and momentum that it has at home with them on the road. Wisconsin has a spotless 6-0 conference record at home, winning all 18 of the Big Ten games played in the UW Field House this season. But in conference road matches, the Badgers are just 3-3 and even gave up a game two weeks ago to Iowa, who sits in 10th place in the Big Ten.
""Being at home, our crowd is just phenomenal and that always gives us that extra boost of energy, having all those people backing you up,"" Simpson said. ""Our biggest thing that we've been working on is trying to find our energy on our own. Even at this practice [on Tuesday], we started off kind of slow and [Waite] said, ‘This is what it's like. The gym's like this, there's no one there cheering for you, so that's when you need to get out there and create the energy for yourself.' And that's what we're trying to learn how to do.""
