The No. 21 Wisconsin volleyball team will face some stiff competition this weekend, as it hosts top-ranked Penn
State and Indiana at the UW Field House.
Wisconsin (4-4 Big Ten, 14-6) will take on the Nittany Lions Friday night. PSU was the last Big Ten opponent to defeat the Badgers at home, taking a thrilling 3-2 victory home last season.
Penn State (8-0, 20-0) returns all seven starters from its 2007 National Championship squad and has yet to lose a single set in its 2008 campaign.
Defense will be the top focus for Wisconsin, which has struggled with its passing at times this season.
No team can have a shot against Penn State if they don't pass,"" head coach Pete Waite said. ""Penn State brings some tough jump servers, some tough floaters; they just come at you hard. And if you're passing off the net, you can't run your offense. If you're setting to one person, they're going to have a monster block. So if we can pass well and keep our setters in system, we've got a shot.""
Penn State as a team hits at a .398 clip and claims four of the top five-hitters in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions hold opponents to a league lowest .062 hitting percentage while leading the conference in blocks with 3.22.
Senior Christa Harmotto leads the nation with a .512 hitting percentage while adding 2.58 kills per set.
Wisconsin's senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers ranks 10th in the Big Ten in both hitting percentage at .323 and blocks per set with 1.07.
Sophomore libero Kim Kuzma averages 4.24 digs per set, and will need to step up again if the Badgers wish to steal a win from the heavily favored Lions.
""We've been really focusing last week and this week on defense,"" Kuzma said.
""Even when people are bombing balls, just to get a hand on it - once you get a hand on balls, the more you do it, the more you are able to get them up later. I think our defense is going to be a lot better than it has been.""
The PSU matchup will be rebroadcast on tape delay Sunday afternoon on ESPN2.
The Badgers will then host Indiana (2-6, 10-10) in a Sunday matinee. Indiana boasts senior Erica Short, who leads the conference in kills with 4.78 per set and sophomore Ashley Benson's fourth-best 1.48 blocks in conference games this season.
""They're a very athletic team,"" Waite said. ""They are playing with a lot of confidence. Ashley Benson is extremely athletic - she flies. So she is one of many weapons they have that we are going to have to deal with. We certainly can't think that Penn state is the team to focus on, because these are two really good teams coming in.""
Wisconsin volleyball alumnae will also be introduced during Sunday's match against Indiana.
Wisconsin, which ranks third in the nation in attendance, will host just its third weekend of competition at the Field House. The Badgers are 5-0 thus far at home.
