The sixth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team (27-3 overall) travels to sunny Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend on its road to the Final Four. After hosting the first two rounds at the UW Field House, the Badgers now have their sights set on Texas A&M.
The two-time Big Ten Champion Badgers are coming off victories in the first round over UW-Milwaukee and in the second round over Michigan State.
UW Head Coach Pete Waite said that he felt after a challenging match against UWM with a lot of ups and downs, the team came out and dictated the battle against one of their conference rivals.
\This team really came back in a great way after being challenged in the first game and dominated Michigan State, one of the hottest teams coming into the tournament,"" Waite said. ""It just showed how the players could gather themselves and raise their level of play to a higher level when needed.""
The squad was second in the Big Ten in service aces per game this past season, recording a season-high 12 aces for a three-game match Saturday against the Spartans. Senior defensive specialist Sara Urbanek and her season-high four aces paced the Badgers. Also leading the attack for UW were senior middle blocker Sherisa Livingston, with a match-high 15 kills and six blocks, and senior setter Lizzy Fitzgerald, with a stellar 32 assists.
Senior leadership has been instrumental in the success of this year's squad. Fitzgerald was honored as the UW's third Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and joined Livingston as unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten team.
However, Waite feels that the other seniors that follow in the shadow of Fitzgerald and Livingston have really helped the team develop every day.
""The four seniors have all been outstanding for us, and one of them who has been great that does not get much press is Marie Meyer,"" Waite said. ""As a player in practice, she constantly goes against the others and pushes them. She works hard at making the others that much better. The combination, though, of the four, have done great things for this program.""
This weekend marks the fourth time in the last five years the Badgers have advanced to an NCAA Regional game. This Friday will be a test for the No. 6 UW team as it plays the 11th-seeded Aggies of A&M. Texas A&M represents a similar style of offense that the Badgers play with.
""They are a quick team with some big hitters,"" Waite said. ""We are going to have to step up our defense and tough it out. It is getting down to that time of the year, with injuries and fatigue, but we are going to have to play tough defense and out hit them at every opportunity.""
The success of the Badgers last year truly carried the program to uncharted grounds. By winning the NCAA Mideast Regional, advancing to the Final Four and eventually finishing second in the Championship'all firsts in UW history'the team established itself as a powerhouse in college volleyball.
""The success of last year provided this team with some great experience,"" Fitzgerald said. ""It really sparked the fire within us and is driving us to get to such a high level of competition again.
""We do not feel any pressure,"" Fitzgerald continued. ""We all want to get back there after the great experience and use all that we learned from a season ago. We know what it takes and we are going to have to fight to get [to the Final Four].""
There are a number of accomplishments that the team can be thankful for during this festive time of year.
The team has attained a lot of firsts for the volleyball program. However, there is still one thing that sits atop of their Christmas wish lists'a National Championship. The road to the top continues this weekend.
