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Weekend tourney brings stiff competition
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by Ben Solochek
Friday, September 5, 2008
This weekend, the Wisconsin volleyball team is looking to cash in on another tournament win as it heads to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ Invitational.
Last weekend, the No. 10 Badgers, who moved up three spots in the AVCA Coaches Poll, won three straight matches to take the Kentucky Classic with a decisive three-game sweep against the hosting Kentucky Wildcats. The Badgers were once again led by junior outside hitter Brittney Dolger, who had 39 kills throughout the tournament and was named tournament MVP.
“We were really proud of the way we played,” senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers said. “We played some really good teams. So to come out with a win was great for us. You know, there are always improvements that need to be made, but we were really satisfied.”
The tournament in Kentucky gave the Badgers a chance to finally get into competitive play and begin to mesh as a team. Last weekend’s matches allowed the Badgers to gain some momentum to go into a tournament featuring some tougher opponents.
“We have become more feisty, I guess,” Dolgner said. “Coming off of a good weekend of wins, we have brought along an attitude where we don’t want to let up.”
This week in practice, the Badgers have been trying to solidify their lineup and the defense in preparation for this weekend’s tournament. Jeffers said the team was also working on passing and different blocking schemes to challenge the new opponents.
“We have been trying to solidify our defense, especially our blocking,” head coach Pete Waite said. “I think we had a few holes in the block last week, and we have a system when there are times where we want to get our middle blockers out to the outside. They did a good job of improving it.”
On Friday, the Badgers will have a chance to square off against UNLV. The Rebels are 1-2 going into their home tournament after losses to Dayton and South Carolina in the Arizona State Tournament last weekend. UNLV is led by junior outside hitter Jessica Walters, who leads the team with 60 kills and averages 4.62 per game.
The Badgers have yet to see the Rebels play, which may serve as a disadvantage for UW heading into the matchup. Waite said his team was able to watch a little tape on them but was not able to fully scout them. But, he said, the Badgers have the same advantage over the Rebels.
“I think we can go out there and surprise them a little bit with what we got because they don’t have a chance to scout us,” Waite explained.
On Saturday, the Badgers face off against University of Miami (OH) from the Mid America Conference and Sunday against Cal State-Fullerton, who present one of the biggest challenges to Wisconsin because of its unique style of play, which comes from experience with beach volleyball.
“They are better on defense from playing beach volleyball. They can see the court a lot better for seeing better,” Dolgner noted.
This weekend, look for the Badgers to continue working on solidifying their starting lineup and for role players to have vital roles in each game. Last weekend, freshman Janelle Gabrielsen and sophomore Nikki Klingsporn combined for 106 assists, helping the Badgers overcome the loss of former setter and All-American Jackie Simpson.
“She is the kind, athletically, can get up in the middle and bang the ball,” Waite said of Gabrielsen. “She can hit quick sets, she can hit high on the right. She is great on anticipating balls on defense, too. She will not sit there and dig balls that are at her, but she will chase balls that are 10 to 15 feet away. That’s the sign of a great player when they have great court IQ and can see it before it happens.”
Next weekend, after playing two weekends on the road, the Badgers will finally get a chance to play for their home crowd in the InnTowner Invitational at the UW Field House.
“What we are excited about is getting the students out here,” Waite said. “You know, the students have such a blast here. We get hundreds and hundreds of students, and that is better than any team in the conference. They just do a great job of harassing the opponents and distracting them from their game. We have a lot of fun watching them.”
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