Ten teams that competed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, including eight teams which were ranked or received votes in the final 2001 USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, highlight the 2002 University of Wisconsin volleyball schedule.
“With 10 NCAA tournament teams and eight ranked teams, we’ll be pushed to improve as a team every step along the way,” said coach Pete Waite, who begins his fourth season at UW this fall. “We’ll be facing the types of teams who will get us ready for Big Ten play and for the NCAA tournament.”
Among the ranked teams on the Badgers’ schedule are No. 11 Texas A&M (26-6 in 2001), No. 12 Ohio State (27-4), No. 17 Penn State (22-8), No. 19 Michigan State (21-8), and No. 20 Illinois (21-9). Minnesota (19-13), North Carolina (24-9) and UC-Santa Barbara (17-14) all received votes in the final poll.
All eight ranked teams participated in the 2001 NCAA Tournament and will be joined on the Badgers’ schedule by postseason qualifiers Duke (23-5) and American (26-4).
Wisconsin opens its 2002 season Aug. 30-31 at the North Carolina Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Badgers will face the host Tarheels as well as New Mexico State and St. John’s.
The InnTowner Invitational in the UW Field House Sept. 6-7 will pit the Badgers against Texas A&M, which ousted Wisconsin from the 2001 NCAA Tournament in the round of 16. UW will also face Illinois State and the University of Montreal in the tournament.
“We invited Texas A&M to join us here before we met them in the NCAA tournament,” Waite explained. “They’re a great team, and we’re looking forward to getting the chance to reverse the outcome of our last meeting.”
The Badgers make another trip to the East Coast when they participate in the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C., Sept. 13-14. All three teams in the invitational advanced to the 2001 NCAA Tournament, with Duke advancing to the second round while both American and UC-Santa Barbara lost in the first round.
“Having a chance to play some of the top teams on the East Coast will help prepare our team for playing on the road when the NCAA tournament rolls around,” Waite said. “We have a fairly young team coming back, and these tournaments will help them mature quickly.”
Wisconsin opens the Big Ten Conference season on the road at Purdue Sept. 27 and will get a look at one of the league’s toughest opponents in Illinois the following night. Wisconsin plays six of its first-half Big Ten matches on the road and ends the regular season with four out of six matches at home.
“The Big Ten may be more balanced than I’ve seen it in the last three years.” Waite said. “Ohio State and Penn State will be strong as always, with Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan also vying for the top spot.
“We also want to position ourselves at the top of the conference again, so we have a big challenge ahead of us after losing two All-Americans (Lizzy Fitzgerald and Sherisa Livingston) and a defensive specialist who is training with the U.S. National team (Sara Urbanek). I like the nucleus of our returnees, and they’ve been working really hard in the off-season. We’ll be counting on our great crowds to continue to push us to the top of the Big Ten again in 2002.”
Waite returns 10 letterwinners in 2002, including setter Morgan Shields, who redshirted the 2001 season. Starters Erin Byrd, Korie Gardner, Amy Hultgren, Jill Odenthal, Lori Rittenhouse and Lisa Zukowski will lead the way for the Badgers.
The bracket for the 2002 NCAA Tournament will be announced Dec. 1, with first- and second-round matches being played Dec. 5-8. Regional competition will take place from Dec. 12-15, and the 2002 NCAA Championship will be held in New Orleans Dec. 19 and 21.
— compiled from staff reports
