After spending last weekend in Texas, the Wisconsin volleyball team returns home this weekend to play host to the InnTowner Invitational. The No. 25 Badgers earned victories over Texas State and Louisiana Tech at the Texas State Premier before falling to Pepperdine in the championship match.
This year’s version of the InnTowner will have a new format, pitting the ACC against the Big Ten. Representing the ACC will be North Carolina State and Duke, with Iowa joining Wisconsin on the Big Ten side. Each team will play a pair of evening games against the two non-conference opponents, allowing fans to see how the ACC and Big Ten compare.
“It’s slightly different. We like to think we have a little faster-paced game and a little more physical players,” head coach Pete Waite said. “We obviously want the Big Ten to win all their matches, and we’ll do our part in that.
“We did it mostly for the fans, so that they can have the two nightly matches instead of a normal tournament where you play a noon match or a 10 a.m. match,” Waite said. “A lot of people can’t make three matches in a weekend. Now they can really come out and enjoy two if they want to in the evening.”
UW’s first draw will be a Friday night matchup with NC State (4-3), whom they have never played before. The Wolfpack are led offensively by 5-foot-9 freshman outside hitter Julia Reis, who has a team high 3.78 kills per game. 5-foot-11 junior Melanie Rowe chips in 2.46 kills per game, and 6-foot junior middle blocker Sarah Ensminger paces the team in hitting percentage (.423), service aces (eight) and blocks per game (1.16).
Wisconsin’s Saturday night opponent will be Duke (3-3). The two teams last met in 2001, with the Badgers taking care of the Blue Devils 3-0. Leading the way for Duke this season are three seniors: 5-foot-10 outside hitter Tassy Rufai (4.10 kills per game, 3.05 digs per game), 6-foot-3 middle blocker Krista Dill (2.73 kills per game, 1.68 blocks per game) and 6-foot-1 outside hitter Katie Gilman (4.06 digs per game).
“We know they are a big team, and we know they have some pretty big-name players,” Waite said. “They run a pretty quick offense.”
“[NC State and Duke] will be good challenges for us. We are thrilled to be home, playing in front of our fans. We’ve got just the two matches, Friday and Saturday night, that’s awesome. It’s another chance to see how we’ve improved during the week.”
Two areas the Badgers are looking to see improvements in are defense and blocking.
“I think we’ve been a pretty steady offensive team, and I think that one thing we’ve been improving on definitely is our blocking and our defense,” sophomore Aubrey Meierotto said. “Everyday we’re working to improve on that, so hopefully that’s something we can carry into the games this weekend.”
UW is hoping to get a boost in the block department from freshmen middle blockers Maria Carlini and Amy Bladow. Carlini has started five of Wisconsin’s first six matches. Her 0.93 blocks per game are tops on the team. Bladow racked up six kills and a pair of blocks against Pepperdine.
“I think the freshmen are playing very well. They’re bringing a lot of things to the team,” Meierotto said. “The two middles are both really young, and being put in that middle position — that’s a tough position to play. They’ve been handling it really well and [have] been working really hard in practice.”
Wisconsin will need to make some overall strides if they are to emerge with their first tournament sweep of the early season.
“I think the improvements we need to see are in consistency of play,” Waite said. “From play to play, from game to game, from the first third of the game to the second half, to the finish of the game. If we have a team on the ropes [we have to] shut them down and finish them off.”
