[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

There is a sense of urgency this weekend for the Wisconsin volleyball team as it prepares for its second to last weekend of play on the road at Indiana on Friday and at No. 1 Penn State Saturday.

The Badgers (17-11, 7-9 Big Ten) became eligible for NCAA tournament play last weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Iowa on Sunday. Wisconsin, however, will have to be nominated for an at-large bid because only division champions are given automatic bids to the postseason.

The match of particular importance is against Indiana, a team the Badgers lost to at home in four games at the end of October. The Hoosiers are one game behind the Badgers in the Big Ten standings with a 14-14 overall record and 6-10 in conference play. Whichever squad emerges Friday will definitely get a leg up in who gets selected to the tournament, as the selection process factors in head-to-head matchups.

“It’s a big incentive to go out there, bring everything you have and leave it all out on the table because, right now, it’s do or die for us,” Wisconsin sophomore setter Nikki Klingsporn said. “So we are going to go out there with a sense of urgency and have that win.”

The Hoosiers are coming off a weekend in which they lost to Purdue in five games and swept Illinois in three. Indiana is led by senior middle blocker Erica Short, who is second in the Big Ten in kills, averaging 4.59 per game.

According to Wisconsin senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers, the key to having a successful weekend is going to be cutting down on errors. Against Minnesota last Friday, the Badgers had 16 service errors.

“I think it’s about having intense practices,” Jeffers said. “The coaches have definitely been picking up the drills we have been doing. We are doing a lot of emphasis on serving, an area we wanted to improve on this weekend. We have a lot of pressure situation drills for serving, which has really been beneficial for the team.”

Saturday’s game against Penn State will pose a whole new set of challenges for the Badgers. The Nittany Lions, who are ranked first in the nation, have not lost a match this year, let alone a set. They lead the Big Ten in most major offensive categories, including hitting percentage, assists and kills. Penn State also leads the conference in opponents’ hitting percentage.

“When you play Penn State, you really have to take care of the ball when it is on your side of the net,” Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said. “That’s in serve-receive, passing well and being able to run your offense and avoid a big double block on you.”

One extra challenge the Badgers may have this weekend is playing without junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner, who missed Sunday’s game with an injured ankle. Dolgner was still working on getting healthy and rehabbing on Wednesday.

Despite the NCAA Tournament — which starts Dec. 4 — looming in the distance, the Badgers know they can’t overlook these vital weekend matchups.

“We can’t even think about getting in the tournament until we fight to get these wins and get in the tournament,” Waite said. “We have to play with a high level of intensity, great focus, great anticipation and great urgency to win every point and to get it done one at a time. You certainly can’t play hard for five points or five great plays and expect to win the set. You got to win 25 points at least and sometimes extra points and still be battling and outwork the other team.”

For now, the Badgers are looking to get revenge against two teams that beat them earlier in the year and, hopefully, propel themselves in to the NCAA tournament.

“You fight all the time,” Waite said. “It’s strange; I’ve been around long enough where I’ve seen years when you will lose at home and beat them on the road. So that definitely can happen — and we want it to happen this weekend.”