Two brand new teams will meet in the University Gym in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday night. Or at least that is how it appears on paper.

The 4-5 Wisconsin women’s volleyball team will hit the road this weekend to try their luck against the 0-8 Indiana Hoosiers. At this same point in the 2010 season, these two Big Ten teams were each in a much different position in terms of their records.

Going into their first meeting with the Hoosiers last season, the Badgers were 0-7 while Indiana was 3-4. Wisconsin fell in three sets, continuing its Big Ten losing streak. The Badgers have since made changes for the better, including three new freshmen additions to the starting lineup, giving Indiana a new look at a much improved Wisconsin volleyball program.

Both teams lost in their Wednesday evening matches in five close sets. Indiana was pitted against No. 12 Purdue for a chance to earn its first Big Ten victory of the season. Despite double digit kills from four Hoosier hitters, Indiana was unable to come up with the win. Wisconsin lost a similar heartbreaker to Minnesota.

“They are battling out there, and I know that’s a team that is hungry to win,” head coach Pete Waite said. “They’ll be at home, and they will want that win from us.”

The Hoosiers’ top offensive gun, junior Kelci Marschall, was included in that successful group of four on Wednesday, finishing the night with 14 kills and 10 digs.

Marschall averages 3.07 kills per set and has the ability to play on both sides of the court.

“[Marschall] has been playing some right side, she’s been playing some left side,” Waite said. “They have had some injuries from last year; they have had some illnesses, so they don’t have all their players out there.”

Perhaps the biggest loss from last year came with the graduation of middle blocker Ashley Benson. During the last matchup with the Hoosiers, Benson outblocked the Badgers’ leading blocker, Dominique Thompson, 13-2.

The Hoosiers as a whole outblocked the Badgers, 17-2. Taking over for Benson this season is 6-foot-2 junior Samantha Thrower who averages nearly a block per set.

Indiana’s current defensive backbone also happens to be the Hoosiers all-time dig leader. Senior libero Caitlin Cox averages a team-high 4.27 digs per set and like Badger libero Annemarie Hickey, Cox leads the team in service aces with .24 per set.

“We know they are a dangerous team especially at home,” Waite said. “They are well coached and they do some nice things. We have to come out and be playing the same ball we are playing. We can’t back down a little bit. We cant go softer. We’ve got to go after it.”

Last meeting, the Hoosiers served very tough, topping the Badgers in aces 8-2 and an overall stronger serving percentage of .892 over Wisconsin’s .860. Recently, Wisconsin has been consistently strong from the service line, led by Hickey in aces.

Freshman Courtney Thomas and the Badgers want to remain consistent in order to give themselves the best possible shot at a victory.

“Serving and passing, those are the biggest keys of volleyball,” Thomas said. “If we serve and pass well and attack well, we most likely come out with the win.”

Waite hopes to have his attacking line at full force. However, freshman hitter Crystal Graff was subbed out of Wednesday night’s match with a knee injury. Junior outside hitter Bailey Reshel came off the bench for the Badgers and earned three kills, as Graff did not return.

“If Crystal is able to play, great,” Waite said. “If not, we’ve got to have the next person come in and really stabilize things for us, and that’s fine.”