The 2003 UW volleyball team is starting this season knowing the challenge at hand. The loss of seven players from a year ago, including three starters, has forced the Badgers to look to its youth for solid play.

“There’s challenges every season, whether defending a title or working your way back up to the top,” head coach Pete Waite said. “I think where we are is not a bad place to start.”

The Badgers begin the season picked to finish fourth in the conference after a solid second-place finish last season, accompanied by being ranked No. 18 nationally.

This season, the senior leadership of Jill Maier, Morgan Shields and Lisa Zukowski will be counted on to help the core of young players adjust to the high-pressure situations that will face them.

Named co-captains for their final season at UW, Shields and Zukowski will provide the Badger offense with a strong one-two punch of control and attack.

Shields was one of 12 Big Ten players selected to the preseason all-conference team after she led the Big Ten and finished fourth nationally last season with a 13.91 assists per game average. After losing her biggest attacking threat to graduation, Shields will need to step up her play in an effort to utilize UW’s attack.

“She is the one in charge of running the show and making the decisions as far as what hitters to go to at what points in the game,” Waite said.

The biggest question mark that may face the Badger offense is in the play of senior co-captain Lisa Zukowski. After playing libero last season to build up confidence in a knee that she injured in 2001, Zukowski will move back to her outside hitter position, where she can make the biggest impact on the Badger offense.

Ending the 2002 season with an upset loss in the NCAA tournament, the Badgers were not short on motivation for offseason training. Taking a break from student-athlete status, the players had the chance to work out on their own schedules.

“I think a lot of the players have done a nice job this summer, staying in shape, playing a lot of volleyball,” Waite said. “What we have to do is get the new players involved and comfortable with our system because I’m sure they are going to be stepping on the court very quickly.”

The Badgers landed two of the top 50 players in the nation when they signed Amy Bladow and Lindsey Boler to national letters of intent and will begin the 2003 season with four freshmen on the roster.

Returning sophomore starters Shiela Shaw and Aubrey Meierotto look to make an impact at the middle blocker and left outside hitter this season after having breakout performances last year.

Joining them as returning starters will be juniors Jill Odenthal and Marian Weidner and senior Angie Sanger, who saw limited action last season.

As a team, the Badgers are returning nine letter winners from a team that was good but didn’t seem to have the tenacity it needed to win the close matches last season. Fans will be looking toward the Badger youth to step up their games and prove their critics wrong in 2003.

“We need to be the team that’s hungry, going after other people,” Waite said. “I think this group has gotten that kind of a feeling back.”