This weekend, the Badgers take their last road trip of the regular season to Illinois and Northwestern. The No. 12 Badgers are currently 8-8 in the conference which puts them in 7th place.
Illinois is currently one spot ahead of the Badgers at No. 8. The two teams have yet to face off this season. Earlier in the season, Northwestern came to Madison and the Badgers swept the Wildcats.
Last weekend, the Badgers went on the road to play Indiana and Purdue. Wisconsin swept Indiana for the second time this season, but fell to No. 21 Purdue in a three-set sweep.
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This was the first time the Badgers were swept this season. They have had difficulty closing out matches throughout the season.
Wisconsin will face a very strong Illinois team. The fighting Illini lead the big ten with 2.97 blocks per set.
Middle blocker Ali Bastianelli ranks first in the conference with 1.64 stuffs per set. The Badgers rank third, with 2.66 blocks per set.
Wisconsin will inevitably have hits blocked as is the nature of high level volleyball, but their hitters must continue to swing at the ball and find ways to get points. If the Badger’s top hitters get shut down, it will be a tough night.
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Illinois is led by junior setter Jordyn Poulter, who averages 10.87 assists per set. They get the majority of their kills from just three players while middle hitter Ali Bastianelli is 6th in the Big Ten in percentage.
Outside hitters Jacqueline Quade and Beth Prince rank 13th and 15th in the conference in kills per set. Quade has 3.35 and Prince adds another 3.17
Wisconsin, on the other hand, has middle blockers Dana Rettke and Tionna Williams, who rank 2nd and 3rd in the conference for hitting percentage.
They are extremely balanced on offense with five or six players getting significant playing time at the net. Because of this, their only player in the top 15 of kills per set is Dana Rettke, who ranks 12th.
On Sunday, Wisconsin will have to work hard to beat Northwestern. Despite Northwestern dwelling near the bottom of the Big Ten, they play some aspects of their game at a very high level.
They are second in the conference with 1.52 service aces per set, and their senior outside hitter leads the Big Ten with 4.14 kills per set. But one of the Northwestern’s weaknesses is their defense. They are second to last, with 12.13 digs per set.
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However, since Northwestern is such a good serving team, if they can get Wisconsin out of their system on the serve, their defense will be in a much better position to give their team opportunities for kills.
Last week, Wisconsin struggled with ball control against Purdue and I expect that they spent time in practice this past week working to improve their passing.
The Big Ten season is winding down and the Badgers still have yet to settle in and start playing their best volleyball.
Unfortunately, they are running out of time to connect all the pieces. This weekend is an opportunity for Wisconsin to improve and prove to the selection committee that they deserve to be ranked during the end of season tournament.
