The Badgers took the floor Friday night against No. 6 Minnesota with something to prove after last weekend’s loss to unranked Illinois.
Unfortunately, the team could not score when it mattered most and succumbed to the Gophers in a five-set marathon (27-30, 30-32, 30-17, 30-20, 10-15) that showed the grit of the Big Ten’s highest-ranked team.
“I told the team after the match we got better as a team today, we really did,” coach Pete Waite said. “That is a very good team we played; we just have to get stronger at critical times.”
The Badgers had Minnesota down 29-28 and 30-29 in game two but could not manage to put the Gophers away. The Badgers earlier had built a lead of eight (19-11), but let Minnesota back into the game, and Minnesota capitalized on its first point opportunity.
“We had them in the second game, and we let them back in,” Waite said. “We could have shut the door there; we just have to know how to finish.”
After blowing the Gophers out in two straight games (30-17, 30-20), the Badgers evened out the match in the fifth game at 6-6. The Gophers broke the tie, scoring five straight points, and won the match with mental strength rather than physical ability.
“We felt we were the better team–we felt we were doing things better than them in every area, but we broke down at the wrong time,” Waite said. “It came back to haunt us in the end.”
The Badgers beat Minnesota in every statistical category except serving errors, but it was their mental weakness that ultimately cost them the match.
“Unfortunately it came down to the fifth game where we broke down,” Waite said. “In a 15-point game, you don’t have that luxury of coming back.”
The weekend crowds of 4,196 and 4,139 provided a raucous environment in the Fieldhouse; however, the crowd noise could not provide the edge the Badgers needed at crucial points in the match.
Sunday afternoon, the Badgers beat an Iowa team that appeared to be outmatched from the onset. Although the Badgers appeared stagnant after an easy first-game win, they managed to maintain their focus and win in straight games (30-15, 30-21, 30-19).
“I thought that was a good win coming off our loss on Friday against Minnesota,” Waite said. “We saw our play improve Friday night, but we just didn’t get the win. Today we came out and played a solid game.”
After a disappointing split of Big Ten matches a week ago, the Badgers (2-2 Big Ten) overcame a difficult loss Friday to post another split this weekend. One huge difference between the two weekends was the cohesiveness of the team, and the introduction of freshman middle blocker Sheila Shaw into the starting line-up.
“Sheila had a great week of practice, and she’s improved every week she’s been here in the program. We just see more and more good signs of things that we needed on the court,” Waite said. “Not just her hitting, it’s her attacking, her personality, her enthusiasm. Obvious things that have helped us take another step forward.”
Shaw came into the first game of the match against Minnesota and converted on a huge kill to put the Badgers down by just one point, 21-22.
“She did great–she was blocking balls, she was making some scramble plays that just got our whole team excited to play better,” Waite said. “She had some great shots on her slides and was scoring at critical times for us, so she was doing an awesome job.”
Shaw managed ten kills in her first full match at home and followed it up with another ten-kill performance Sunday.
“It’s so much fun, I don’t even think about it, I just play,” Shaw said about playing in her first home match.
The Badgers will go back on the road next weekend to face Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Indiana, where they will have another opportunity to build upon the mental character that could be blamed for the team’s two Big Ten losses.
