Nikki Klingsporn has some big shoes to fill, and she’s more than ready to admit it. A redshirt volleyball player at UW, Klingsporn has taken over as setter for graduated All-American Jackie Simpson.
As a freshman, Jackie Simpson began her career as the UW starting setter and never looked back. She ranks second all-time on the Wisconsin career assists list with 5,235. In addition, she earned All-Big Ten honors the past two seasons and was named a 2006 AVCA second-team All-American.
Although Simpson has a very impressive r?sum? at the college level, Klingsporn comes into UW with a remarkable high school r?sum? that includes the 2005-06 Miss Volleyball Minnesota award and a No. 51 ranking on PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces. In addition, she was a two-time first-team All-State and has made the Mizuno and PrepVolleyball.com All-American teams.
“[Miss Volleyball Minnesota] was a really big honor for me because I felt like there are a lot of really good players that come out of Minnesota,” Klingsporn said. “Coming into UW, there’s a lot of pressure for anyone that comes in here, so its just coming in here and working hard every day.”
Although head coach Pete Waite will greatly miss the talented Simpson, he believes that Klingsporn can mimic some of Simpson’s game and add a new dimension to the Badgers’ offense.
“I think [their games] are similar in the fact that they’ve trained together for the last two years, so they’ve been going through the same technique training,” Waite said.
Although Waite believes that Klingsporn is not as efficient on the outside as Simpson, he feels that Klingsporn runs a better middle offense. He also believes that Klingsporn brings a great jump serve and does a good job dumping the ball on second contact. In addition, Klingsporn comes from an athletic family that has guided her in her toughness and athletic skill, which the head coach has noticed.
“She came from a sports-minded family,” Waite said. “Her mom was a high school volleyball coach, her dad was a high school basketball coach, and that’s something you grow up with in terms of toughness and knowing how hard you have to work to be good.”
Klingsporn believed it was the right decision to redshirt her freshman year because it provided her with the opportunity to watch greater setters like Jackie Simpson and Katie Lorenzen.
“Any setter can learn from another setter just by how they run different combinations,” Klingsporn said.
Although Waite wants to see more leadership from Klingsporn, he believes that she is making exceptional progress from last season to this upcoming season.
“She needs to be more vocal on the court, needs to guide her team on the court and through each play,” Waite said. “She needs to talk to each player. If they need to be pushed, push them more. If they need to be calm, calm them down a little bit. A lot of the setter’s role is leadership and that’s something she’s doing right now, being more vocal on the court.”
Waite has seen a considerable change in Klingsporn’s defensive game and her fitness level. He attributes beach volleyball practices in helping her defensive skills because “when you play doubles, you have to play more defense.” Training on sand and a healthier diet has also added to Klingsporn’s fitness levels, which have provided her with more mobility on the court.
As the Badgers prepare for the upcoming season, Waite has turned to Klingsporn to run a prestigious Badgers team that has won numerous Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championship in 2000. Although Waite has lost many All-Big Ten and All-American players like Simpson, he believes Klingsporn has the athletic potential and volleyball IQ to be an outstanding player over her career and to lead the Badgers atop the Big Ten.
“I think Nikki is turning this into her team now,” Waite said. “She is becoming a better leader on the court, which is something you have to work on sometimes, but she’s definitely ready for it.”
