Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite got a chance to see both of his setters in action over the weekend. Sophomore Katie Lorenzen earned the starting nod in both matches, tallying 35 assists in a loss to Minnesota and 27 in Wisconsin’s 3-0 win over Iowa.

“She’s playing very well,” Waite said of Lorenzen, who has started three consecutive matches for UW. “Katie’s set location has been very good. All of this is new for her, obviously. There have been four matches now that she’s played in her career. She’s learning all the time.”

Freshman Jackie Simpson also saw court time in the two matches. Simpson, who began the season as the starter, came off the bench in game three against Minnesota and recorded six assists. She also ran the Badger offense in game three against the Hawkeyes and responded with 18 assists.

“Between Katie and Jackie, we feel good about both of them. They’re both big setters — both 6-foot, 6-1 with big jumps — they put up a big block. They set at a high level, taking the pass off the top of the net or well above the top of the net. We have confidence in both of them. I think we’re going to see both of them here down the stretch quite a bit.”

While Lorenzen is still listed as the probable starter for Friday’s match against Indiana, Waite is not tipping his hand as to which setter will take the court.

“We take it a day at a time, but Katie did a nice job over the weekend,” Waite said. “Jackie got in some, too and we know they’re both good options out there for us whenever we need them.”

Silver lining: Although UW fell to Minnesota in three games, the match was an encouraging one for the young Badgers. Wisconsin tested Minnesota all night long. Each of the three games was tied at 20-20, but Minnesota proved too much down the stretch. Only USC and Ohio State have hung losses on UM.

“Even though we did lose the match, we took a team that a week ago was ranked No. 1 in the country and pushed them each game,” Waite said. “We held their outside hitters down at a hitting percentage they hadn’t been at this year and we out-blocked them. We saw some good signs and we learned a lot. It’s one of those environments you can go in and fold up with a young team, but they did really well.”