The Badgers return home to the UW Fieldhouse this weekend to take on cross-lake rivals Michigan and Michigan State.
The Badgers had yet another rollercoaster performance last weekend, as they beat No. 24 Ohio State only to lose to unranked Indiana the following evening.
“After coming off a real nice night of play against Ohio State, we just didn’t come back with the same intensity and focus or the same confidence,” head coach Pete Waite said. The 18th-ranked Badgers will need to regain that confidence and focus if they plan on sweeping this weekend’s matches and improving their Big Ten record to 5-3.
The Michigan State Spartans enter this weekend ranked 23rd in the nation behind the play of junior outside hitter Sara Villvock, who leads the team in kills with 4.04 and digs with 3.29 per game.
The Spartans will also receive offensive support from sophomore Kim Schrarn, who averages 3.66 kills per game, and junior Nikki Colson, who averages 13.54 assists per game.
“Michigan State is up in the top 25,” Waite said. “They are a very good team, a very big team, always strong.”
The Badgers starting line up might be the biggest surprise of Friday night’s play. Over the weekend, the Badgers showed their youth, at one time having three freshmen and two sophomores on the floor.
The productivity of freshmen Sheila Shaw and Lauren Ford, as well as sophomores Jill Odenthal and Marian Weidner, have added a few question marks to which starting lineup may work best for the Badgers.
The Badgers are still led by their seniors, whose play has kept them in the starting lineup. Outside hitter Erin Byrd leads the team with 3.76 kills per game and adds 2.92 digs as well. Opposite Byrd, at the other outside hitter position, is Lori Rittenhouse, who contributes 3.13 kills per game. Junior setter Morgan Shields leads the team with 13.70 assists per game and 0.65 aces.
It is, however, the outstanding play of freshman middle blocker Sheila Shaw that has helped the Badgers solidify their offense and has earned Shaw a spot in the starting line up. Shaw now leads the team this season with a .382 hitting percentage.
“Sheila is doing a great job,” Waite said at a press conference Monday. “She really didn’t start for the first three or four weeks of the season, and suddenly she came in and gave this great energy on the court.”
Saturday, the Badgers will play a Michigan team which just beat the Spartans and is tied for third place in the Big Ten.
The Wolverines will be led by sophomore sensation Jennifer Gandloph, who averages 3.79 kills and 3.37 digs per game from her outside hitter position. The team is also helped up front by the play of junior middle blocker Erin Moore, who averages 3.30 kills and 1.19 blocks per game.
“We know they are both going to be great teams coming in,” Waite said. “It’s going to be some really exciting volleyball; we just have to have our team on the court ready to go.”
The Badgers hope to emerge from Homecoming weekend with their first Big Ten sweep of the season and the wherewithal to get back on track in this Big Ten season.
