The UW volleyball team will enter the NCAA tournament this weekend after winning eight of its last 10 regular-season matches and claiming a second-place finish in the Big Ten.
The Badgers (23-8) will play host to the first and second rounds of the tournament as Alabama A&M (24-7), Miami (25-5), and Duke (24-9) will compete in the Fieldhouse this Friday.
“It’s the big dance, [and] I think our fans get excited about it because they can help us advance in the tournament, and it may be the last weekend that they get to see this team play,” head coach Pete Waite sad. “This team’s come a long way this season, they’ve really grown and matured and are doing some exciting things.”
The first match of the tournament will pit the second-year program of Miami against an experienced Duke program with 10 NCAA appearances. While Miami made it to the Big East Conference finals and Duke lost in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals, both teams finished in second place in their respective conferences.
“All the teams coming into the tournament have done something to earn their place there, they’ve beaten some good teams,” head coach Pete Waite said. “They’re all threats to make a run in the tournament, so we have to prepare for everybody.”
The Badger’s first-round match-up with Alabama A&M will be the first meeting between the two schools and will offer fans a look at two very contrasting styles of play. A&M will be forced to deal with the up-tempo power game of Big Ten play, and could be playing in front of their largest crowd of the season. The Badgers on the other hand, know very little about A&M and may be faced with some matchup problems.
“Normally in the Big Ten we’re more familiar with those teams, and we only have two on a weekend,” Waite said. “Here you have the need to prepare for three teams, which makes it a little harder because you don’t know them at all and you could play any of them.”
The match against A&M will be head coach Pete Waite’s 500th career game and will mark the fourth consecutive year of his four year tenure in which the Badgers will be competing in the NCAA tournament. After finishing in second place in the Big Ten (14-6) the Badgers will be playing in a tournament for the first time in over two months.
“Any time you want to advance in a tournament you take your first opponent, play that game then look to the next opponent,” Waite said. “The benefit we have on Friday is we are able to watch Miami and Duke play in person before we possibly meet them.”
The Hurricanes of Miami will be led into their first ever match of the NCAA tournament by a pair of sensational sophomore spikers. Right-side hitter Valerie Tipiana was named Big East Player of the Year after she averaged 4.13 kills per game and led the team with a .318 hitting percentage. Setter Mallorey James averaged 13.28 assists per game earning her the title of conference setter of the year. The Hurricanes will also count on senior leader Marcela Gamarra who leads the team with 4.20 kills and adds 3.10 digs per game to perform at her all-Big East caliber.
Duke may enter the match with a starting line-up that includes a player representing each of the next four graduating classes. Led by junior outside hitter Katie Gilman’s 3.31 kills per game, the Blue Devils are helped on offense by freshmen Sarah Salem’s 2.96 kills and sophomore Stephanie Istvan’s 8.82 assists per game. The possible second-round matchup with the Badgers would be the fourth time the Badgers have played the Blue Devils, with the Badgers sweeping Duke earlier this season in their last match.
The Badgers will be led into the NCAA tournament by high-flying senior Erin Byrd. Byrd leads the team with 4.38 kills and 2.99 digs per game and has averaged over five kills per game in her last nine matches.
“I think I’m playing really well,” Byrd said. “I came in hitting strong this season but I think I’ve matured a lot, and my body feels good and I’m excited to be at home.”
Byrd will be joined up front by sophomore Jill Odenthal, who averaged 3.06 kills per game, and senior Amy Hultgren who leads the team with a .319 hitting percentage and 0.95 blocks per game.
“I’m pretty excited going into it,” Odenthal said. “I know more about what to expect from the NCAAs this year than I did last year.”
The Badger hitters will be set by junior Morgan Shields, who has maintained her status as one of the nation’s top setters throughout the season. Shields averages 13.89 assists per game which ranks her fourth in the nation.
UW will hope to perform better than they did in their regional semi-final performance a year ago when they beat UW-Milwaukee and Michigan State at home before losing to Texas A&M in Palo Alto, Calif.
“I know now that any loss we take is my last game but I’m just really excited to play, Byrd said. “I’ve always loved this time of year and I feel that every team plays to the best of their ability right now and I’m excited to see what our team can do.”
