After suffering its first conference loss of the season two weeks ago, the No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team was able to rebound with a pair of tough victories against Indiana and Purdue and remain one game behind Penn State in the standings.
“The Penn State loss was emotional, and a lot of energy went into it,” head coach Pete Waite said. “The players really had to refocus and get back on track because we still had the second half of Big Ten play and a lot of the matches are on the road. It was great that they got right back on their horse and got some wins under their belt.”
The Badgers also had to fight adversity last weekend. Facing match point against Indiana, Wisconsin battled back with four straight points to win the match to give the team even more confidence as it moves forward with the rest of its season.
“For as long as I’ve been a part of this team we have been the comeback kids,” junior middle blocker Audra Jeffers said. “I have been in so many matches at Wisconsin where we’re down and it’s match point against us and we come back. Just being a veteran on the team and knowing that we’ve done that before and we can come back (gives us confidence).”
Now the Badgers are looking to take that momentum gained on the road and turn their longest home stand of the year — four matches — into a successful one.
“Our players are really excited, and I know our fans are happy to have us here,” Waite said. “This is an important stretch for us here as we continue in the second half of play here. We have to gain some energy and momentum as we head into the Penn State match again.”
Even though the Badgers might be looking forward to the rematch against Penn State, Wisconsin realizes it has to take care of business this weekend, otherwise the Big Ten title will not be on the line the next time UW faces the Nittany Lions.
“You have to respect everyone in the Big Ten,” senior middle blocker Taylor Reineke said. “[Michigan State and Northwestern] are good teams. They’re solid. They have some great players. We’re just going to have to come out and play our hardest.”
Wisconsin’s first test on the home stand will be much-improved Michigan State Friday night. The last time these two teams faced, the Badgers beat the Spartans 3-1, keeping MSU winless in the Big Ten and in last place. Since then MSU has gone 5-3 to move into a six-way tie for fifth place.
“Michigan State has always been a very physical team, but they moved some players around the lineup,” Waite said. “They have found better positions for them and are playing with a lot more confidence.”
If the Badgers are going to be successful against the Spartans, they will have to focus on stopping MSU’s senior outside hitters — Ashley Schatzle and Katie Johnson, who both are averaging more than four kills per game at 4.35 and 4.24 respectively.
“[Schatzle and Johnson] are both big guns and are heavy hitters,” Waite said. “They have a lot of shots and they play front row and back row. You just don’t see that very much in the Big Ten anymore. They are hard to stop because of how many shots they got, but I think our block is big enough that it can disrupt some things. We are hoping that will happen this weekend.”
Following their match against Michigan State, the Badgers will host another team on a roll Saturday night in Northwestern. Coming off a seven-match losing streak, the Wildcats have won four in a row — including two wins against then-ranked opponents in Minnesota and Michigan — to also move into the six-way tie for fifth in the Big Ten at 5-7.
“Northwestern had been starting some younger players in front of some veterans,” Waite said. “They decided that the veterans were doing a better job and got back on the court. Especially (Brittney) Aldridge has come in and put up some big numbers for them.”
While Aldridge has been coming up big for the Wildcats lately, their senior outside hitter Lindsay Anderson –who is averaging 3.71 kills per game — leads the surging Northwestern squad.
“Anderson bangs the ball,” Waite said. “She is especially good at just banging it off the block and hitting a lot of different shots.”
If Wisconsin is going to be successful this weekend, it knows that putting up a big block — like UW did last weekend in stuffing 35.5 shots — will be an important factor in deciding the outcome of the matches.
“It is so crucial,” Jeffers said about blocking. “Everybody behind the block is working and doing their moves based on what the block is doing. Our defense isn’t on the same page if the blocking is not (working well).”
