Redshirt junior Audra Jeffers had never played a game of volleyball before her freshman year at Arrowhead High School. Well, okay, maybe a once-a-week practice-kinda-type squad"" in eighth grade, as Jeffers put it.
Jeffers made an immediate impact at the UW Field House five autumns later, leading the team in kills in her first season in a Badger uniform. She has continued to climb the ladder in the Wisconsin record books ever since, but the road hasn't always been easy.
In spring 2007, Jeffers had surgery to repair a nagging back injury. She missed the spring pre-season but returned to the fall season with renewed energy and a new responsibility on the floor.
""I think the back thing is just a motivation now, coming back into the gym and feeling 100 percent healthy,"" said Jeffers. ""You never know when your time is going to be up - that's what that injury really taught me. I have a much better appreciation for the sport.""
At the debut of the regular season this fall, head coach Pete Waite told Jeffers that she would be playing a new position this year: middle blocker. Jeffers had played middle in high school but as a freshman at Wisconsin automatically assumed a role as an attacker.
The move wasn't a total surprise, as Jeffers' recurring back injury hindered her playing time while hitting opposite. The coaching staff and trainers noticed that as Jeffers wound up on the right side, she was over-arching her back, causing incredible stress to the spine.
""On the right side, you have a high set that you have a lot of time to arch your back with,"" said Waite. ""In the middle it's much more quick and compact to jump and swing. She's got great power and can still hit out of the middle well, but that started it because we needed her to stay healthy and on the court.""
Jeffers has admittedly had a short time to get acquainted with her new role as a middle blocker, but Waite is pleased with her progress.
""She was pretty frustrated getting to know it,"" said Waite.
""I'm growing to like middle,"" said Jeffers. ""I've always struggled with liking each position when I first get there, but then when I get used to it and [start] feeling more confident I start to like it.""
""She's just a sponge,"" said Waite. ""She picks it up, she listens and she tries it and does it. She picks up things faster than almost any other player I've ever had.""
Jeffers has not only come around but has also taken control at the net. She earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor in September after posting two personal blocking bests against Illinois and Michigan.
""As you can see by all the stats, she's been doing amazing in the middle,"" said sophomore Katherine Dykstra, who took Jeffers' place at the right side. ""I think it was a really good switch. She has a lot more talent in the middle than I do. Her blocks are unbelievable.""
""I've just wanted to do whatever the team needed,"" said Jeffers. ""Every minute here I just try to do my best.
