SPORTS
Super Seniors
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Greg Schmitz:
- Blown away: Cyclones shock Badgers (December 3, 2007)
- Super Seniors (November 29, 2007)
- Badgers draw comparisons to 2000 finalist squad (November 27, 2007)
Related Stories:
- One last shot for Badger seniors (March 23, 2007)
- Careers over for storied senior class (December 3, 2007)
- Seniors wrap up careers (November 26, 2007)
- Wisconsin enters tournament on roll (November 26, 2007)
- Field House of Dreams (April 12, 2007)
by Greg Schmitz
Thursday, November 29, 2007
As the Wisconsin volleyball team gears up in hopes of making a deep run in its 12th straight NCAA tournament appearance, five seniors' Badger careers will end in just three short weeks.
Amanda Berkeley, Megan Mills, Jackie Simpson, Taylor Reineke and Jocelyn Wack have been the core of the volleyball team that has won almost 100 matches over the last four years from day one.
Now, with three weeks at most left in their careers, these five seniors are beginning to look back at their time as Badgers before they make one final push toward the Final Four.
"I try not to think about that," Wack said about the thought of her career as a Badger coming to an end.
"This is it," Reineke added. "Some of us might not be able get the chance to play volleyball again. It's just kind of play hard or go home. This is it. This is all we have left. We are going to work hard and play like we have nothing to lose."
The early years
For these five seniors, putting on the Wisconsin uniform for the first time back in 2004 provided them with mixed emotions.
"Just to have that jersey on, and be a Badger and realize there is so much to come was so exciting," Simpson said.
"I was excited and nervous," Berkeley added. "I've never played in front of so many people before. I was more excited to be on the team and be playing at the Field House when I use to watch games here."
However, from the beginning, this senior class hit the ground running, immediately contributing on the court. Wack earned the starting libero spot from the get-go and Simpson and Reineke quickly made their way into the starting lineup as setter and middle blocker, respectively. Mills and Berkeley, who both walked onto the team freshman year, also contributed as defensive specialists coming off the bench.
"It's very rare for a class to come in with as many people as they have and to start right away and to continue on for four years contributing in such a big way," head coach Pete Waite said. "They clearly earned their spots as freshmen. You (also) have a situation with two walk-ons who have contributed in big ways during their careers, which is also very rare."
It was this experience that was gained during their first year that the seniors attribute their successes to today.
"Just getting that experience was invaluable," Wack said. "We've been through everything together on and off the court and that is really paying off this year."
"It's to the point now where you don't even have to hear someone or see them to know where they are on the court," Simpson added. "It's like we are connected on a whole other level. A lot of that has to do with the chemistry we have off the court. We truly are a family."
Entering their first NCAA tournament, the Badgers were not expected to make a deep run. However, Wisconsin shocked many in the volleyball world when it upset No. 2 and undefeated Hawaii in the Sweet 16 before losing to the eventual champions, Stanford, in the next round.
"The biggest thing I remember from that is how it went back and forth," Wack said. "I remember Jill Odenthal pulling everybody in the middle and saying, 'We are going to win this game.' It was just an amazing feeling to take such a great team like Hawaii and send them back home."
Wisconsin followed up the Hawaii upset with two more upsets the following year by beating then-No. 2 Minnesota and then a favored Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
It is these big upsets early in their careers that gives this Badger quintet the confidence they can make a deep run in this year's tournament.
"Once you get in the tournament, you get faced with these teams that are expected to win," Mills said. "After we beat Hawaii and all the big matches that followed, it showed us that we could play up to that level and that we had so much potential that we could be good. It gave us that extra confidence."
Finally upperclassmen
Entering their junior year, the Badgers were now an experienced bunch and many expected them to make a run at a Big Ten title.
However, Waite enjoyed the 2006 season because he was able to see how the group of girls matured during their first two years.
"It was fun to see them go from being kind of frustrated players earlier in their career, because of the mistakes they might have been making — the freshmen mistakes," Waite said, "to go to the point where they are really enjoying the game their junior and senior year because they've made the corrections, they've worked hard in the offseasons to be better players."
During Halloween weekend, the Badgers pulled off another upset, sweeping No. 2 Penn State in what the seniors consider one of the biggest matches of their careers. All five of them contributed in Wisconsin's dominating performance, as the trio of Wack, Mill and Berkeley combined for 16 digs, while Simpson and Reineke combined for 12 kills and eight blocks.
"It was unbelievable because everybody played flawlessly," Wack said of the Penn State match. "That was awesome because it doesn't happen a whole lot. Sometimes people have off-nights here and there, but everybody on the team picks it up here and there. That night we couldn't be stopped."
Mills echoed Wack's assessment of the match.
"We were all in the zone," Mills said. "We weren't forcing it or trying to do anything miraculous. We all worked together really well."
While the Badgers rode the high of the win to more conference wins, for the third-straight year their season ended in disappointment.
After making it to the Elite Eight in their freshmen and sophomore year, the quintet was stopped short of their goal of making the Final Four when they lost to Texas in the Sweet 16. The seniors have used that loss to motivate them to finish strong this year.
"We kind of had a chip on our shoulder, and we knew this year we wanted to do a lot better and we didn't want it to end there," Reineke said about the Texas loss. "It made us work a lot harder this season."
One last push
After their most successful campaign, the seniors are now ready to make their final push at making it to the Final Four.
"Sometimes our staff has been spoiled and our fans have been spoiled by the level of play they have brought to us and the effort they have given us," Waite said. "It has been a great jolt, and now as we enter the tournament, they're eager to play great and make a deep run. I know they have set high goals, and they are going to give everything they can to the program now."
While none of the seniors wanted to think about the fact that their careers could be all over Friday, the realization that their time as Badgers is winding down is beginning to set in as the quintet signed the hitting boxes they use in practice Tuesday, a Wisconsin tradition.
However, the seniors were excited to find out they will not have to leave Madison again unless they make it to the Final Four, which would be welcomed by all.
"It was nice for the seniors," Mills said about finding out Wisconsin would host the first four rounds. "Either we make it to the Final Four, or we lose at home. We are definitely striving for the Final Four, but if we don't make it, there is no place to end like home."
Because the Badgers are hosting the first four rounds, the seniors feel their last shot at making to the Final Four is their best.
"This is just a great place to play," Simpson said of the Field House. "The energy level is just up another notch. When you have all those people cheering for you want to bring your game up to another level. I know as our season as gotten closer and closer to the end, we have all started stepping it up."
However, whenever Wisconsin's run in the tournament comes to an end — whether Friday or as national champions — the seniors will begin to go their own ways as the finish up their education and peruse other ventures like graduate school and playing overseas. But no matter how far they end up away from each other, they all agreed that no one could take away the bond they developed over the last four years.
"We kind of like each other," Wack joked. "We are like sisters. We see each other every day. We talk about the stupidest things all the time. We are just there for each other for anything. I think we going to be life friends, and that is something we are going to take away forever."
Legacy and future
Regardless of how far Wisconsin makes it in this year's tournament, the senior class will go down as one of the most decorated in UW history.
In four years they amassed a 99-28 record overall and 61-19 in the Big Ten, pulled off numerous upsets, brought record numbers of fans to the Field House and had strong showings in the NCAA tournament.
They have also accumulated numerous personal achievements. A look in the Badger volleyball record books, and you would see the seniors all over the page.
Wack is not only Wisconsin's all-time dig leader but also holds an NCAA record with an 80-match streak of at least 10 digs or more. Reineke is a three-time member of the All-Big Ten team and ranks second in blocks in UW history. Simpson was a second-team All-American last season and also ranks second in assists.
"I think if you were to ask any player on this team, it's all about the team," Simpson said. "Any personal accolades that any of us have earned, we would trade it in a heartbeat to have a Big Ten title. That's what volleyball is all about. It's a team sport. It's a puzzle, and if you're missing any single piece at any given moment, it's not going to be complete. It's a very unique sport in that matter."
Now as the seniors get ready to leave the program, they are confident they are leaving the team in great shape.
"It's Wisconsin volleyball. With or without us, it is always going to be Wisconsin volleyball," Simpson said. "Had we not come here, it still would have been a top 10 team with great recruits coming through. It is one of the best places to play in the country. That is a huge reason why people come here. The girls next year are going to be awesome. It is a bright future for Wisconsin."
"I think it will keep getting better and better," Berkeley added. "We are always a top-notch team so I think it will continue to be that way."
Even though the foundation is set for Wisconsin to continue it success, Waite knows replacing this class will be one of the toughest things he has had to do in a long time.
"It will be very tough," Waite said. "We'll miss them for the level of play they bring, for the effort they give in the classroom and on the court, and just for the people they are. They enjoy this game and have great passion for playing it. They have been great role models for the returning players.
"I think that is something they will pass on to the group for next year, how hard you need to work to be good and how much fun you can have by giving everything you can to the team every day."
Anonymous (November 29, 2007 @ 8:52am):
Next year is going to be so strange. Don't even know what the team is going to look like without these ladies
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
