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UW to host IU, UM

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Also by Ben Solochek:

Home 'Field' advantage (November 30, 2007)
Salow matures, sees role expand for Wisconsin (November 15, 2007)
Wisconsin survives, wins another 5 game match (November 12, 2007)
UW to host IU, UM (November 7, 2007)
Wisconsin splits weekend set (November 5, 2007)

by Ben Solochek

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The 11^th-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team will continue its home stand this week, facing off against Illinois Wednesday and Michigan Friday.

Wisconsin split its series last weekend, losing to Michigan State last Friday and beating Northwestern Saturday. The loss to the Spartans was the Badgers' first loss to an unranked opponent since September 2006.

"We were definitely pushing too hard and pressing a lot where we really need to sit back and play our game and relax," senior setter Jackie Simpson said.

Despite dropping four spots in the polls, the Badgers are excited to get back on the court this week. Head coach Pete Waite said a shorter week to prepare did not hinder his team. He believes it allows the team to carry the momentum it gained against Northwestern into the next match.

Last weekend, the Badgers were plagued by service errors, something the team would like to improve for the next two matches. In their third game against Northwestern, they had six service errors. In practice, the team was able to work hard to make its serves more accurate.

"It's a matter of if you can really put a punch on the ball, make it move and get the passers on their heels," Waite said. "That's what we have to do a better job of. We were doing a good job of that earlier in the season, and we've got to get back to doing that."

The team also focused on playing with a more relaxed style. Waite told his players they need to play aggressive without trying to be "too perfect" and to play with a passion.

"He said that we were kinda being tense and stressed out about things," senior co-captain Taylor Reineke said. "He thinks we need to relax a little and just have fun and enjoy our sport, you know, and we really didn't do that this weekend. That's one thing we are working on now."

Against Illinois, Wisconsin will have to show the passion Waite talked about in practice. The last time the two teams met, Wisconsin won 3-1, and they are currently on a five-match winning streak against Illinois.

The Illini's primary weapons are freshmen outside hitter Laura DeBruler and libero Ashley Edinger. Edinger, who is third in the Big Ten in digs, had 37 against Northwestern Friday. DeBruler leads the Big Ten in kills with 485 and averages five kills per game.

"As a freshman, [DeBruler] is putting up huge numbers," Waite said. "She's a freshman of the year candidate in the conference and very few people have slowed her down, so she is good on offense and defense."

Though the Badgers have won their last four meetings against the Wolverines, the game against Michigan will prove to be as big as their first meeting this year, when the teams were ranked ninth and 10th respectively.

Since losing to the Badgers 3-0, the Wolverines have lost six of their last 11 matches and are on a three-game losing streak. They have since dropped out of the top 25 as well.

Though they have not been performing well as of late, Michigan still ranks in the top five of most of the major categories, including team kills, assists and hitting percentage. It also leads the Big Ten in digs, averaging 18.33 as a team per game.

"Michigan was ranked in the top ten earlier this year," Waite said. "They've been taking some losses here and there and splitting on the weekend, so they dropped out, but they are still a very strong team."

The Wolverines are led by senior outside hitter Katie Brudzinski, who ranks fifth in the Big Ten in kills, averaging 4.41 per game. She also leads the league in service aces, averaging almost .5 per game.

UW will attempt to sweep the series this week and hope league leader PSU drops a match, as the Badgers are two games behind the Nittany Lions and play them in College Park next weekend. But, the team is not worried about future games; it is focused on the task at hand.

"I think we have always done a good job on focusing on the whole '1-0' concept, and I think that is something we have always done as a team, since I've been here this past four years," Simpson said. "The Big Ten is such a strong conference and anything can happen on any given night, and we know that."

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