It won’t take long for head coach Pete Waite to find out how his young UW volleyball team is doing. This weekend, Wisconsin welcomes Missouri and Georgia Tech to town as it hosts the Badger Challenge.
In Mizzou and Tech, UW will square off with a pair of 2003 NCAA tournament participants, something that will serve as an early litmus test for the newcomers.
“It will be a good measuring stick for them — not only to see how they play, but how they react to a big match here at home,” senior outside hitter Jill Odenthal said.
In addition to freshman setter Jackie Simpson, Waite will also deploy true freshman Jocelyn Wack at libero and possibly 6-foot-3 rookie Taylor Reineke at middle blocker. Waite is counting on the help of the home crowd to ease the freshmen into NCAA play.
“It’s great to be at home,” Waite said. “Our fans should come out and see these teams because there are going to be some great matches. We need them to be there. With a young team, we’re going to have to throw them into the fire fast and get ready for Big Ten play. You have the choice of starting with easier teams or tougher teams, and this year we picked tougher teams because we want to get them battle-ready.”
UW’s first test will come Friday against Missouri. Out of the Big 12 Conference, setter Lindsey Hunter leads the Tigers. A 5-foot-10 junior, Hunter is coming off a sophomore season in which she put up averages of 12.3 assists and 2.4 digs per game. She will look to junior Shen Danru and sophomore Jessica Vander Kool to key the Tiger attack on the outside.
“We saw Missouri when they came up here and played in our spring tournament,” Waite said. “They’re a real well-rounded team. They’ve got some nice veterans, some big athletes. Watching them on tape, they’re very consistent. They don’t make a lot of mistakes.”
Saturday night, Wisconsin will get a long-awaited rematch with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. One year ago at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, the Badgers led the Yellow Jackets two games to none, only to fall in game five and drop the match 3-2.
“There’s no doubt [the team wants] to play them again,” Waite said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of battle it is and who shows up to play.”
Just like Wisconsin, Tech begins the 2004 season with a new starting setter, junior Lindsey Laband. Laband has some big shoes to fill, as she must replace NCAA assist leader Kele Eveland. Eveland became only the third Yellow Jacket to be named ACC Player of the Year and earned first team All-American status.
Laband’s primary target on offense will be first-team All-ACC outside hitter Lynnette Moster. A senior, Moster combines with second-team honorees Lauren Sauer and Marisa Aston to form a powerful Yellow Jacket offense.
“Georgia Tech has some very big hitters and a very fast offense,” Odenthal said.
Senior middle blocker Jayme Gergen anchors the Georgia Tech block.
Coach Bond Shymansky’s team comes into Madison with a 0-2 record after dropping matches to No. 1 USC and No. 11 Colorado State at the NACWAA Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. Last season, the Yellow Jackets finished 34-4 and reached the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight before being bounced from the field by Hawaii’s Rainbow Wahine.
Also appearing in the tournament, but not facing UW, will be Big Ten opponent Purdue. The Boilermakers, like Missouri and Wisconsin, will be kicking off their season in the Badger Challenge. The prospect of seeing a different-colored jersey is an exciting one for the Badgers, who are looking forward to getting the 2004 season underway.
“I’m extremely excited,” Odenthal said. “It’s kind of repetitive playing yourself. You push each other, but there comes a point where you need other people. You need fresh meat in there.”
