She has become one of the smartest attackers on the team, developed a wickedly deceptive shot and has led the Wisconsin volleyball team in kills for three years in a row. But even as one of the top 10 attackers in the league, junior outside hitter Ellen Chapman is still learning to play big in the Big Ten.

Chapman, who ranks ninth in the conference with 3.41 kills per set, is the premier offensive player for the No. 14 Badgers, which have not seen this high a ranking in five seasons.

However, Chapman is still occasionally apprehensive to play like the team’s offensive leader.

“I have a problem personally of being scared to error,” Chapman said. “I always take a really safe shot instead of trying to be aggressive and trying to go for it. Being aggressive is something that’s always in the back of my mind when I’m playing.”

Chapman has tallied 344 kills and 101 errors for a .249 hitting clip this season, which is the third highest percentage on the team. Chapman said she still has problems holding back the power of her swing. While she had a strong start to the season against weaker nonconference opponents, Chapman ran into trouble in the first part of the Big Ten season with her mentality.

Chapman had only 10 combined kills in the first two matches of the conference season against Purdue and Indiana. In four of Wisconsin’s first five league matches, she only managed to hit above .200 once.

Since then, Chapman has hit for better than .200 in eight of nine Big Ten matches, and has totaled double digit kills in 12 straight matches.

She said her key to success is to be conscious of attacking by reading the defense in front of her – something she only realized would make her a better player last season and the beginning of this season.

“Going up with a shot in mind has always helped me,” Chapman said. “Just not being weak [in] hitting, which I have been in the past, and going up for the kill every time is something that I always have to keep reminding myself.”

Head coach Kelly Sheffield has advised Chapman to leave her total intensity out on the court, even if it means committing errors. He wants to build her confidence and give her more freedom on the court to swing with more force.

Even though Chapman is still overcoming her fear of committing errors, Sheffield said Chapman has raised her game in the second half of the season, something that she has struggled with in past years.

“She’s kind of a silent assassin,” Sheffield said. “She’s carried us in so many matches. I think her approach to every match has been very consistent.”

Fellow junior outside hitter Courtney Thomas said Chapman has improved immensely since her arrival in Madison two seasons ago. She said Chapman’s physical strength and volleyball knowledge have allowed her to be the team’s unquestioned go-to hitter.

“Her freshman year, it was more [her] going up there and swinging,” Thomas said. “Now I think she’s actually up there to score and knowing where the defenders are.”

Although both Thomas and Sheffield have seen proof of Chapman’s increasing physicality, Chapman still thinks she is one of the weaker players on the team. Chapman said senior libero Annemarie Hickey and redshirt junior middle blocker Dominique Thompson can squat almost 100 pounds more than she can, and blames her weaker body on her lanky 6-foot-4 frame.

In this deficit, she’s learned to play to her strengths of accuracy and ability to read the opposition’s blocking strategy.

Sheffield admitted that she isn’t one of the stronger outside hitters in the game, but said Chapman’s offensive range and repertoire has been improving since the start of the year.

“She’s got a really good arm,” Sheffield said. “She’s using that arm to hit with a lot of range. She’s very deceptive. It’s hard to tell where she’s attacking. There are people that have bigger arms, but at her height and angle and her deceptiveness, it’s really tough to defend her.”

Sheffield believes Chapman is closing the gap between herself and the top attackers in the Big Ten. In his first conversation with Chapman over the phone, Chapman didn’t think she necessarily had the skills or strength to join that debate or become an all-American. Now, Sheffield said reaching that personal goal is a solid possibility.

Sheffield said for Chapman to become one of the elite outside hitters in the game, she will need to pack on more muscle in the future. However, he has seen the required effort both on the court and in the weight room for Chapman to elevate her status to great Big Ten outside hitter.

“She’s not the hardest attacker in the league,” Sheffield said. “But she’s also not the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man either. She can bring the heat.”