UW volleyball head coach Pete Waite held his weekly press conference Monday, and the questions on hand had to do with one thing: Texas. The No. 10 Badgers (26-6) take on No. 8 Texas (23-6) Friday at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gym at the University of Texas.
Waite is confident that his team will play better this weekend compared to their early season 3-0 loss to Texas.
""I think they're probably still the tallest team we've played, but they're very close to Penn State,"" Waite said. ""So it's different angles that they bring the ball with than you're used to, so you do have to adjust your block, adjust your defense. And I think we are just a much better team than we were the first time we faced them and we're healthier now.""
Texas on the other hand, is not as healthy as they were back in August, but have still managed to make it to the regional due to an extremely deep bench and some talented freshmen.
""Those freshmen were starting in the beginning of this year, because they had some upperclassmen that started last year on the bench, so that's how deep they are. They were able to bring some of those players back,"" Waite said. ""They did lose one starter, who had been out there the whole time, but they were strong and deep and now they're still strong, but they've had to adjust and they're not quite as deep as they were.""
Wisconsin is one of five Big Ten teams to be in the Sweet 16, joining Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue.
""It's a lot to be proud of—for the Big Ten to still have five out of seven teams that were in the tournament still in there and with a shot at advancing,"" Waite said. ""But the depth of the conference is strong each year and it prepares us for the tournament. It makes us stronger too.""
In other volleyball news, Maria Carlini recorded her 1,000th kill last weekend, a milestone that only a few players ever obtain.
""That's not something that every hitter goes through the program doing, is reaching 1,000 kills, she's been a great producer for us on the court,"" Waite said.
Regional play opens Friday with No. 2 Stanford (27-3) facing off against No. 13 California (22-9) at 5 p.m. Semi-final winners will play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU, for the right to advance to the NCAA Final Four in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16.
The Badgers are looking to advance to at least the Elite Eight of the NCAA championship for the third straight year. UW has lost to the eventual national champions in the regional finals the last two seasons.
