[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]An already young Wisconsin volleyball team got even younger when head coach Pete Waite inserted true freshman Taylor Reineke into the starting lineup Sept. 11 against Rhode Island at the Jayhawk Invitational in Lawrence, Kan.

After recording a career-high 10 kills off the bench the previous night in a losing effort to Kansas, Reineke took Amy Bladow’s place at middle blocker for the tournament finale.

“That was awesome,” said Reineke, who put down three kills and tallied a pair of blocks in her first career start. “I loved being out there with the team. It’s such a great feeling to start, to know that your hard work paid off.”

Following her breakout weekend, Reineke returned to Madison as a starter and began an anxious week of practice in preparation for the InnTowner Invitational.

“I was a little bit nervous because there are a lot more fans here,” Reineke said of the week of practice leading up to the InnTowner. “But everyone here was supportive. My team supported me, the coaches supported me. It was a great feeling.”

She made her first home start at the Field House in a 3-0 win over Virginia, in which Reineke contributed five kills and six blocks to the Badger effort.

“It was great,” an excited Reineke said following the match. “I was so excited being out there: playing with the team, playing in front of the fans at the Field House. I’ve dreamed of that for a long time and it was awesome — a great experience.”

Thus far, the switch has paid huge dividends for Reineke and the Badgers. UW is 4-0 since she joined the starting seven, with consecutive victories over Rhode Island, Virginia, Marshall and Cincinnati. Reineke has made an instant impact on the Wisconsin block, averaging a team and Big Ten-best 1.45 blocks per game, while contributing 1.55 kills per game at a .319 hitting percentage.

At 6-foot-3, Reineke makes a significant contribution to the block on height alone. However, the rookie from Naperville, Ill. also brings tremendous quickness to the Badger frontline, allowing her to shut down the middle as well as cover the outside. That same skill set also makes her a dangerous option in the Wisconsin offense.

“She’s a very disciplined blocker,” Waite said. “She gets to the outside very fast and she’s got a very fast arm on offense. She does not make many hitting errors. There are times in a match where it might not be the player’s fault who’s in front of her, but we need to change and we need to look at somebody else. Once she got in there, she really showed she could do a good job.”

The opportunity to earn a starting role as a freshman was one of the major reasons Waite and the UW coaching staff were able to lure the Naperville North standout to Wisconsin. After moving Maria Carlini to left-side hitter, the Badgers had just Bladow and Sheila Shaw at middle blocker.

“They only had two middles to start with, so it was a good position for me,” Reineke said. “I chose Wisconsin not only for volleyball, but for academics and because Madison is the best town ever. I had to come here.”

Initially, Reineke struggled to establish a connection with the Wisconsin setters, limiting her effectiveness in fall training until her new teammates adjusted to her.

“Early in the preseason she was actually a little tentative and a little frustrated because she wasn’t connecting well with the setters, but that wasn’t necessarily her fault,” Waite said. “Our setters had to get used to how quick Taylor is. Once they did, she’s just been getting better and better and we’ve been giving her more balls in the offense.”

Reineke and freshman setter Jackie Simpson worked to establish chemistry, a process that took time and is still ongoing. The two were teammates on the Sports Performance Volleyball Club under Rick Butler, but did not get to work together extensively, as Simpson was the backup setter on the talented club team.

“It took awhile, it definitely took awhile,” Reineke said. “It’s a lot harder for middles to connect with setters on timing. I’d have to say it took pretty much the whole preseason. We’re still working on it, so hopefully everything will click pretty soon.”

The presence of Simpson and freshman libero Jocelyn Wack in the UW starting lineup has eased the pressure on Reineke, who does not have to bear the burden of being the only newcomer on the court.

“I don’t feel alone,” Reineke said. “There are two other freshman, it’s the same experience for them, too. We can connect and talk about things off the court. It helps me out a lot.”

Should she maintain her current pace, Reineke could be in line to become the third consecutive Badger middle blocker to earn Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors after Shaw and Bladow, with whom she compares quite favorably to in terms of development.

“I think she may even be ahead of them,” Waite said. “She’s a little taller and she came from a background with a little better training and experience. The club team she plays for practices more than any team in the country and travels the world to play the best competition. She comes in with experience like a lot of college players would have.”

As she becomes more and more familiar with her teammates and vice versa, Wisconsin expects to see Reineke’s offensive production increase significantly to go along with her considerable defensive contributions.

“We just need to get her the ball more,” Waite said. “She’s more than capable of it, it’s just a matter of within our offense, we’ve got to get her the ball both in serve receive and in transition.”