The 14th-ranked UW volleyball team will take on Northwestern and Penn State this week, marking the team’s end of the regular season at home.
The Badgers (20-7, 11-5) are currently riding a seven-match home winning streak and are 12-1 at home this season. The Badgers will play host to Northwestern (16-12, 9-7) in a rare Wednesday-night matchup before ending the home portion of the Big Ten season against No. 17 Penn State Friday.
The Wildcats enter the match with UW tied for fourth place in the Big Ten, two matches behind the second-place Badgers. Northwestern comes to Madison one month removed from its first victory over the Badgers in 14 years.
“We were not pleased at all by how we played there, but we have improved a lot as a team,” head coach Pete Waite said. “With Northwestern coming in, it’s important for us in Big Ten play and national rankings, so we can’t overlook [them].
Led by junior middle blocker Erika Lange’s team-leading 4.35 kills and 1.53 blocks per game, the Northwestern offense will hope to repeat its three-game sweep of the Badgers earlier this season. The Wildcats will also count on the play of outsider hitter Iwona Lodzik, who adds 3.27 kills and 3.18 digs per game, as well as Christie Gardner, who recorded a career-high 20 kills in the team’s victory over Purdue last weekend.
Gardner is the younger sister of the Badgers’ defensive spark plug Korie Gardner, who is averaging 1.99 digs per game this season in her role off the Badger bench. The match will be the second meeting between the two sisters, with Christie’s wildcats winning the first meeting.
Penn State will come into the Fieldhouse Friday hoping to avenge a five-game loss to the Badgers earlier this season. The 17th-ranked Nittany Lions will be led into the match for second place in the Big Ten by senior Mishka Levy and a trio of defensive standouts. Along with Levy, who averages 4.35 kills and 1.53 blocks per game, the Penn State defense is led by Cara Smith’s 1.16 blocks per game and Robyn Guokas’ team-leading 1.43 blocks per game.
The Badgers will be led this week by Big Ten player of the week Morgan Shields. Shields averaged 14.67 assists, 3.50 digs and 1.50 kills per game in the Badgers’ sweep over Illinois and Purdue last weekend. Shields’ 13.82 assist per game for the season ranks her as one of the top-five setters in the nation.
“I think this [was] Morgan’s best weekend of the season,” coach Waite said. “She was playing with the most composure I’ve ever seen her play with; she was setting accurately to the outside, aggressively to the middle, dumping on second contact to the correct places, digging balls. She did everything.”
The Badgers will also be led by a trio of seniors playing in their final regular-season home match against Penn State. Outside hitter Erin Byrd leads the team with her 4.22 kills and 3.02-digs-per-game average, while her outside-hitting counterpart Lori Rittenhouse adds 3.00 kills per game. The Badger defense is anchored by Amy Hultgren, who leads the team with 0.98 blocks per game.
Badger fans may still have the opportunity to see these senior players again if the Badgers finish in the top 16 nationally. This achievement would make the Badgers a host site for the first rounds of the NCAA tournament.
“They’ve been great additions and great seniors for us this season,” coach Waite said about the graduating class. “This is one of the last chances for the fans to see them out there playing, but hopefully we can get good crowds and finish in the top 16 … and have our fans in the Fieldhouse again.”
