[media-credit name=’JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

Every spring the University of Wisconsin volleyball team prepares for the upcoming season by working on conditioning and deciding which players will replace the graduating seniors.

While the Badgers are again doing both of those things this spring, the team has a different approach to their training.

UW hit the ground running during a trip to San Diego over spring break. While the team was out in California, head coach Pete Waite put his players through three hours of conditioning and stretching before they faced San Diego State in a five-game match, and Wisconsin won four of the five matches against the Aztecs.

“It was more about getting our bodies realigned. We did a lot of different kinds of stretches combined with conditioning that made our hips aligned with our legs,” senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers said. “Now people are out here making a lot stronger movements and getting to different balls. We definitely are seeing a change and, with different drills that we have been doing, more stamina from everybody.”

Once the Badgers got back to Madison they began a training program different from any they had ever been through. Instead of practicing five days a week in the UW Field House on the hard court, Waite now has alternated his training schedule, switching back and forth between the hard court and the sand court they have set up in an empty warehouse off campus.

“It makes you a lot quicker, and you can see the court so much better,” junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner said about training in sand. “Your teammates can see the court better, and they can tell you what kind of shots to hit, blocking, and serving and everything.”

In the short time the players have been training on the beach, Waite has already noticed the improvements in his players when they bring the game back to the Field House.

“Their ball control is much better,” Waite said. “You got people who are middle blockers and never play back row are back there passing and playing defense. You got the defensive specialists who normally don’t get to hit have to pass and then go hit. You have Nikki Klingsporn who, as a setter, usually doesn’t hit. She’s back there passing and hitting.

“All of their games are going to be much more balanced. It really has been motivating them to be stronger and better, and it has been fun to watch.”

For the players, alternating between the beach and the hard court has made spring practice more exciting, as the sand has broken up the sometimes monotonous schedule this time of year.

“It definitely does (make spring more exciting),” Dolgner said. “It makes school go faster, too, which is nice. You are always looking forward to a different kind of practice that you are not used to. We’ve never done the beach thing, so it makes it a lot faster and a lot of fun.”

“It’s almost like cross training,” Waite said. “You’re not bored with one thing where you are going five days a week just in the same spot. The sand is very different.”

One of the main reasons the Badgers are training in the sand this season is to prepare for the third annual AVCA/CBS Collegiate Beach Championship, which they will participate in April 18-20 in San Diego. And while Waite already sees how training in sand has improved his team, he sees the move to the sand as a way volleyball is becoming even more of a year-round sport.

“The coaches association is talking about a beach spring season,” Waite said. “A lot of schools would have beach tournaments, and players would go from the hard court to sand. It would increase television exposure because it’s a whole new sport out there, and it’s very big at the pro level. We are trying to push for it, and it is something that is really showing [to be] improving our team also.”

Another reason for the training this spring is so the Badgers don’t suffer another letdown in the NCAA Tournament like they did last year in a loss to Iowa State at home in the second round.

“I still think about it for sure,” Jeffers said about their second-round defeat. “Nobody wants to end a season like that. It’s great to have one more year where we could end on a good note.”

“They were dealing with a lot of injuries that made it hard for them to be as good as they can be at the end,” Waite said. “That’s very tough. The big part of what we are doing is making sure they are all healthy at this point. Getting them healthy and making them stronger. That’s what they are doing right now.”

While the rotation is not set yet, the rapid improvement in his players this spring will help Waite better prepare his team to move forward without one of the most successful senior classes in school history.?

The quintet of Taylor Reineke, Jackie Simpson, Jocelyn Wack, Megan Mills and Amanda Berkeley led the Badgers to two Elite Eight appearances and 99 wins in four years. However, the training program UW is going through this offseason will make the transition easier for Waite.

“We’ve got a number of people who had a good amount of court time last year,” Waite said. “Now it’s just stepping up and filling in the new roles. We’re seeing a lot of improvements in our first two months. They are doing really well. They are playing well as a group and as individuals.”