Sports

UW rolling after road trip

With victories over both Illinois and Northwestern this past weekend, the Wisconsin volleyball team concluded its three-week road trip with a 6-1 record.

During that span, the Badgers have won two tournament titles and moved into a first place tie in the Big Ten with this weekend's victories.

"Obviously any road trip you take in the Big Ten is tougher," head coach Pete Waite said. "You got the travel, you got the crowd. I thought our kids handled it well and possibly because we were on the road for the last two weeks, we were used to it."

The two road victories this past weekend extended Wisconsin's Big Ten winning streak to six games, dating back to the end of last season.

The Badgers' last loss in a Big Ten match was against Minnesota Nov. 12, 2005.

"Anytime you can win on the road in the Big Ten is great," Waite said. "I thought we played well, executed our game plans and had a couple people step up in each match so we're rolling and we are thrilled to back home because we have been on the road for three weeks now."

The victories have also helped Wisconsin build momentum as they get ready for their Big Ten home opener Friday after winning the last four matches.

"[The momentum] is starting to build," Waite said. "When we went out to California and played San Diego it started to build a little bit. Even taking the loss to San Barbara, it helped us get stronger getting into the Big Ten season.

Dolgner continuing to improve:

As the Badgers opened conference play, freshman outside hitter Brittney Dolgner had a weekend to remember. She had a career high 4 blocks against Illinois on Friday night and then came out the next night at Northwestern to lead all Badgers with 22 kills and a hitting percentage of .429 — both career highs.

"Brittney is a great athlete," Waite said. "When she was playing high school for Waupun, she took 80 percent of her school's swings.

"For us, Saturday night especially, she had 22 kills and really it was up to Jackie to get her the ball in the front row and the back row. She is the most accomplished hitter out of the back row that we've had in four or five years. That's where she puts up her big numbers."

So far this season, Dolgner is second on the team with 3.37 kills per game, third in digs per game with 2.34 and first on the team with 13 service aces — an impressive résumé so far in Dolgner's young collegiate career — and she continues to improve every week.

"It probably took [Dolgner] a week or two of play to really get comfortable out there," Waite said. "Even at home in her first weekend she was kind of nervous, almost over-excited to be here. But once that got over with she was really comfortable. She feels good with the upperclassmen and they feel comfortable with her.

"She is not only good as an attacker, but as a back-row player, as a jump server. She is just an experienced player who plays more like a junior or senior than she does as a freshman. She has been a great addition to our lineup."

UW Block Party

One staple of Wisconsin volleyball over the last couple of years has been blocking and this year is no different. Through 12 matches this year, the Badgers rank second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally with 3.76 blocks per game.

Junior middle blocker Taylor Reineke is leading the blocking attack this year again as her 2.67 blocks per game in Big Ten play is tops in the conference.

"[Blocking] is a big part of our game and we've been known for that," Waite said. "A lot of times we are a little low in the dig column but it is because we stop a lot of balls at the net. When you can do that you really put a lot of stress on the opponents' hitters. They try shots that they are not use to and start making more errors.

"We train blocking almost every day. It is something that we're very good at and proud of. It really is something that the opponents will struggle with any given day and really be a benefit for us."