[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]With a pair of sweeps over Notre Dame and Iowa State in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament this past weekend, the Wisconsin volleyball team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season.

The No. 10-seeded Badgers will be joined by four other Big Ten schools in the next round, with Penn State, Purdue, Ohio State and Minnesota all surviving the weekend unscathed. Two other teams in the conference — Michigan and Michigan State — made the tournament, but both lost hard-fought battles in the opening round.

"It's a lot to be proud of — for the Big Ten to still have five out of seven teams that were in the tournament still in there and with a shot at advancing," UW head coach Pete Waite said of the Big Ten's success.

While Wisconsin will get a rematch against No. 7-seeded Texas in the next round, the other conference squads have also drawn tough third-round opponents. The No. 8 Gophers will play No. 9 Florida in Gainesville, and No. 11 Ohio State will square off against the defending national champs, No. 6 Washington. No. 3 Penn State and No. 14 Purdue will be pitted against each other with the winner possibly facing the Buckeyes, should they be victorious against Washington.

"The tough thing is a couple will meet each other in this next round, so it'll narrow things down a little bit," Waite said. "But the depth of the conference is strong each year, and it prepares us for the tournament. It makes us stronger too."

Regional in future?

When Wisconsin plays Texas in the Sweet 16, they will be playing the host school on their home court. With Wisconsin consistently in the top 10 in national attendance and having hosted the first and second round in six of the past seven years, the Badgers will look to become a regional host in the near future.

"We're going to be putting in for regionals next year," Waite said at his Monday press conference.

After hosting the AVCA in August, Waite is positioning his team to succeed on the national level. With six juniors on the team this year, the Badgers will be more experienced next season, giving them a legitimate chance to host a regional in 2007.

"That's something you look at for your team and their strength and their maturity," Waite said about hosting a regional. "Had we put in for this year, then we probably wouldn't get it next year, and we've got a group that will hopefully get even stronger next season."

If the Badgers are selected, it will be the first time since 2000 that Wisconsin will host a regional in the postseason tournament. That year the Badgers made it all the way to the championship match before losing to Nebraska in five games. Wisconsin also hosted the finals at the Kohl Center in 1998.

Heading into the NCAA tournament, senior outside hitter Maria Carlini needed only 18 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. With 10 kills against Notre Dame in the opening round and nine the next night against Iowa State in the second round, Carlini eclipsed the 1,000 kill mark.

"She's obviously been taking a lot of swings for her career," Waite said of Carlini reaching the milestone. "[That] means the setters have trusted her and she's gotten her kills in critical matches for us and in a tough conference."

Carlini became the 16th Badger to ever reach the milestone and the third in two years as Sheila Shaw and Aubrey Meierotto both topped 1,000 kills last season.

"That's not something that every hitter goes through the program doing, is reaching 1,000 kills," Waite said "[Carlini's] been a great producer for us on the court. And it's not just her hitting. She's been a great blocker, great defender and a great team leader. We will miss her a lot after the season is over."