Seeing its first regular season action of the year, the No. 11 UW volleyball team (3-0) wasted no time getting down to business as it recorded a trio of sweeps at the 2007 InnTowner Invitational Tournament held in the UW Field House last weekend. The Badgers tallied victories against in-state rival UW-Milwaukee (2-1) on Friday night and against Gardner-Webb (0-3) and Syracuse (1-2) Saturday.
In its season opener, Wisconsin beat UW-Milwaukee 30-21, 30-24, 30-19. The match was highlighted by great offensive attacks from sophomore outside hitter Caity DuPont, and 2007 Preseason All-Big Ten honorees sophomore outside hitter Brittney Dolgner and senior middle blocker Taylor Reineke. The three players combined for 33 kills on 71 attempts and 39.5 points. On the other side of the ball, the Badgers out-blocked the Panthers 10.5 to three and out-dug them 51 to 48, despite UW-Milwaukee's reputation as a defensive stalwart.
[We were] a little slow at the beginning and came from behind in the second game,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said after the match. ""But a lot of it was just getting the jitters out to start the season in front of our crowd. Overall, our numbers were good by the end of the match and we were able to keep their top hitters down a little bit tonight.""
Saturday's match against Gardner-Webb was the most dominant performance of the weekend for the Badgers, who won 30-16, 30-12, 30-13. The team rallied for a combined .376 hitting percentage, led by junior outside hitter Morgan Salow, who had 13 kills on 20 attempts. DuPont made an impact on the afternoon as well, getting six kills on nine attempts without a single error. The defense also came up big, holding the Runnin' Bulldogs to a -.091 team hitting percentage. The Badgers' serve game also played a major role in the victory, as Wisconsin scored on 10 service aces, four of which came from senior libero Jocelyn Wack.
The tournament's final game also ended well for Wisconsin, as the Badgers beat Syracuse 30-16, 30-17, 30-27. Anticipated as perhaps the most challenging opponent for the Badgers during this tournament, the Orange struggled through its first two games before it came out strong in the third. The final game started with an 8-0 run by Syracuse, and finally ended with a block from Dolgner and sophomore right hitter Katherine Dykstra. The Badgers spent most of the game playing catch-up before a slew of kills from Salow, Dolgner and junior outside hitter Audra Jeffers brought the Badgers from a 20-22 deficit to a 27-22 lead. Among the offensive leaders for the night were Dykstra with a hitting percentage of .429 and Dolgner with 17 kills on 32 attempts.
""I was pleased with [the team's performance this weekend,"" Waite said. ""I've been seeing it for the last couple of weeks as far as what they are capable of and the level they are playing in practice. Now we are just tweaking a few things on the court every time we learn how somebody's doing in different situations, defensively and offensively. It was a good weekend and good progress.""
Along with tournament champion honors for their 3-0 record, three Badgers earned All-tournament honors for their performances over the weekend. Dolgner and Wack both earned spots on the All-tournament team while senior setter Jackie Simpson earned the tournament MVP award. She tallied 84 assists, three kills and six block assists in two matches.
""I think any time that the setter gets recognition it means that the team is doing really well,"" Waite said. ""I think we ran a really balanced offense all weekend and that was good to see. It's exciting.""
The Badgers will be starting a four-week road tour beginning next Friday when they travel to Brigham Young University to compete in the BYU Molten Classic in Provo, Utah. Wisconsin will try to improve on its perfect record in three matches against Northern Iowa, American University and No. 17 BYU.
