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The Wisconsin volleyball team will open up the Big Ten season this weekend on the road against Iowa and Minnesota.

“We are really excited for the Big Ten [season] to start,” said junior outside hitter Caity DuPont. “It’s kind of a new focus because during preseason you don’t really know the teams very well. But in the Big Ten, you have seen most of the players before so you can really focus on the teams and what they do.”

The Badgers, who are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Marquette Cheese Bowl, have dropped in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll for the second time this year from No. 13 to No. 18 after their five-game loss to Oregon State on Saturday.

Although the loss to the Beavers was tough, UW is not discouraged. In fact, the team sees it as a challenge and a way to trick their opponents into overlooking the team.

“Having a high number in the polls puts a target on your back,” DuPont said. “When we were higher in the polls, people wanted to beat us. Now that we are slipping, people might underestimate us. We are going to come after them with a lot of fire, and they are going to be surprised.”

The Badgers are going into the weekend as the third-highest ranked team in the Big Ten. The defending champion Nittany Lions are ranked No.1, and the Golden Gophers are ranked No. 12. Purdue, Illinois and Michigan round out the Big Ten’s representation, ranked 19, 20 and 21, respectively.

Wisconsin’s first test of the weekend will be against a revitalized Iowa team. The Hawkeyes are led by new head coach Sharon Dingman, who got the job after spending eight years at Illinois State. While with the Redbirds, Dingman led the team to seven winning seasons in eight years, including a NCAA tournament appearance in 2007, their first in 10 years.

This is the first year Iowa has not been picked to be at the bottom of the Big Ten. Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said Dingman has brought a new mentality to the team and has them believing they can compete with the teams at the top of the division.

“If you look at Iowa, they have a new team and a new staff,” Waite said. “They have some veteran players, and it makes them kind of scary because they were down, and now they are excited about what they are doing.”

On the court, the Hawkeyes are led by setter Kiley Fister, who ranks sixth in the Big Ten in assists, averaging 9.77 per game. Senior outside hitter Catherine Smale averages 3.5 kills per game, which ranks eighth in the conference.

“[Iowa] has a good setter,” senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers said of Fister. “She is really good at setting against the flow, and our middle blockers are going to have to be really disciplined with that.”

On Saturday, the Badgers head north to play in the latest chapter of the Border Battle against Minnesota. The Gophers, who are coming off a 3-2 loss to North Carolina last weekend, are looking to get revenge on Wisconsin after being swept in both matches last year.

“It’s always a battle, and it’s exciting. We love competing,” Jeffers said. “It’s one of the most fun matches of the year. I know our team and their team are going to be competing really hard. Especially with last year’s outcome, they are going to come out with a chip on their shoulder. We always love to beat Minnesota, and they are ranked ahead of us, so it’s going to be extra motivation for us. ”

Although they lost last weekend, junior libero Christine Tan was named Big Ten defensive player of the week. Tan leads the Big Ten in digs with 230 and averages 5.35 per game. On defense, Tan is complemented by sophomore middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer, who ranks second in the Big Ten in blocks, averaging 1.44 per game.

For the Badgers, look out for DuPont and freshman setter Janelle Gabrielsen to play major contributions. Last weekend, DuPont was named to the all conference team and is seeing major improvements in her game despite being injured for most of the preseason. If the team is able to successfully rebound from a less than stellar weekend last year, look for them to be in the mix early in the Big Ten season.