The Wisconsin volleyball team concluded their spring exhibition season Saturday afternoon with a loss to Illinois at the UW Field House. The Badgers took the first set by a score of 25-19, but the Fighting Illini stormed back and won the final three sets 25-21, 25-20, 25-23.
The team faced strong competition in each spring match, as all four opponents participated in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Although the Badgers finished the spring with an unimpressive record of three losses and one tie, Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite noted that the focus of these matches was not completely on winning and losing.
""Something you look for in the spring is to give the people who didn't play in the fall a chance to be on the court, the young players to get experience. We had three to four freshman out there at a time,"" said Waite.
Redshirt freshman Kelsey Maloney's five blocks tied for match-high honors, and she also contributed one service ace and six kills.
Freshman Janelle Gabrielsen turned in an equally impressive performance, accounting for 35 of Wisconsin's 42 assists on the day. ""Nellie [Gabrielsen], I think, has made great progress as a setter and is improving,"" Waite said. ""Overall, it was a solid team effort and we liked what we saw.""
The Illini outdug the Badgers 62-45 and finished with a 59-46 advantage in kills. Michelle Bartsch led Illinois with 17 digs and also picked up 16 kills. Illinois also took a 58-42 edge in assists, but Wisconsin did commit two fewer errors and totaled five service aces to only three for Illinois. Junior Brittney Dolgner accounted for two of the Badgers' aces. Dolgner and Allison Wack tied for the Badgers' team lead in kills with 13 apiece.
The Badgers used the spring schedule to practice their new offensive scheme, the 5-1. The team used the 6-2 offense during the 2008 fall season, but has actually used the 5-1 in the past. The main difference with the switch is the change from two setters on the court to only one.
Waite was pleased with his team's improvement over the past month.
""I thought today was a very good day,"" he said. ""We didn't win the match overall, but we made a lot of great progress from the first spring match of the season to today. I think people got out there and improved in the areas we were looking for so I'm happy with that. Illinois is a great team and they brought some great offense today, but I was happy with the way we progressed.""
With the spring season complete, the team can now look ahead to the 2009 fall schedule, which was released this week. Wisconsin will face eight teams that competed in the 2008 NCAA tournament. The Badgers will open the season on the final weekend of August, hosting the 18th annual InnTowner Invitational tournament in the Field House. The team will also participate in tournaments at Oregon State and Notre Dame during the course of the season.
