Volleyball was not in Jill Maier’s plans when she left Oak Creek High School. A tremendous all-around athlete, she hoped to parlay a standout prep soccer career into a roster spot for Dean Duerst’s Badgers. That was, until head coach Pete Waite talked her into donning the cardinal and white for his volleyball team.
“I definitely thought I was going to try and walk on to the soccer team,” Maier said, “but there was an all state game here my senior year, in the end of July, and Coach Waite came up to me and just presented the idea ‘you’re coming to Madison, you want to try out?’ It was just more of a concrete thing. I happened to know a couple of the girls from club volleyball. I’m definitely happy with my decision playing volleyball.”
At Oak Creek High School, Maier was selected all-conference three times for soccer and twice for volleyball, where she was coached by current UW Director of Volleyball Operations Sarah Mikla.
“We saw the potential in her,” Waite said. “Even though she didn’t have a real strong club-level experience at the high school level, we thought she could come through with some good training. I think she just saw the fan support we have and a chance to play indoors, rather than sometimes outside in the cold and rain that soccer might have to play in. With all that, I think it was an easy decision for her.”
Nine days later, Maier was practicing with the Badgers. A left side hitter in high school, at 5-foot-7, she has switched to defense on the college level.
“I love it,” she said. “Defense is definitely an important part of the game. We have great tall, athletic girls that can do their job in the front row and I just help out in the back row.”
As a result, Maier only gets to show off her 33-inch vertical from time to time in practice.
“Occasionally Coach lets me jump in and hit an occasional two ball here or there, that’s always exciting,” she said. “Or if a ball gets thrown up in the back row and I can take a swing at it and get it past Coach, it’s always fun.”
While splitting time between libero and defensive specialist in 2003, Maier is averaging 3.36 digs per game. She has recorded more than 20 digs three times this season, including a career high 22 against Purdue. She also came up with her first kill as a Badger against Illinois. And while she is quick to point out that a 20-plus dig match is much more satisfying, Maier cannot help but smile when talking of her two career kills.
“I’ll have an occasional kill when the hitters hit it so hard that it bounces off my body and it goes down on the other side,” she said. “It’s nice to get those up and it’s definitely exciting. It definitely gets some momentum going when you can run to the middle of the court and yell ‘I got a kill’ for the first time in my collegiate career.”
Maier may be doing plenty of running this spring, as she tries her hand at yet another sport. The über athletic senior will look to translate her speed, quickness and leaping ability into a track career.
“The assistant track coach just approached me this fall about maybe doing some stuff for track,” she said. “I’m definitely going to, once volleyball season is done. I’m going to go out and just do some stuff with him and see what I can do. I’ve never done anything (track related) — he was talking to me about either jumping or sprinting, so it’s definitely something I look forward to doing, and hopefully something will turn out in.”
After spending the majority of 2000 and 2001 on the sidelines, and starting two matches as a junior, Maier has seen the most playing time of her career in 2003, her final season in a Wisconsin uniform.
“You always want to play, and I’m definitely getting the most playing time I’ve had,” she said. “This past season is definitely bittersweet. It’s really fun to be out there and it’s sad to realize that it’s going to be over. It’s fun, but it’s definitely sad that I’m not going to be here next season.”
While she has only six regular season matches remaining in her career, the Wisconsin coaching staff is certainly glad that Maier chose the court over the soccer field.
“She brings a lot of speed and some great energy,” Waite said. “That’s the one thing that really caught our attention when she was in high school … the athletic ability she had. We really felt that getting to play at a higher level would give her a chance to use that speed and her leg strength. That really has paid off in the back row, both in her defensive play and in her passing.”
