For the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team, it seems every Big Ten match matters more than the previous in the bottleneck race toward the 2003 conference championship.
Wisconsin (10-4 Big Ten, 18-7 overall) heads to Evanston, Ill., to battle the Northwestern Wildcats (7-8, 16-11) Friday in the first of four straight matches on the road. The Badgers conclude the weekend with a trip to Champaign, Ill., Saturday to take on the No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini (11-4, 20-5).
With the Badgers currently jockeying for a stable foothold atop the conference standings, every match grows in magnitude.
\If we can come out of this weekend with two wins, we're sitting well in conference still and we've beaten two very good teams on the road,"" said UW Head Coach Pete Waite. ""We know [Northwestern and Illinois] are playing well and we have to come with everything we have, all our weapons, all our intensity, all our fire and get these wins.""
The Badgers currently sit tied for second place with Illinois and No. 17 Minnesota (10-4, 17-9). No. 12 Penn State (11-3, 22-4) leads the conference but has only a one-match cushion on the three second-place teams, making every match that much bigger for the Badgers.
While Northwestern may be in the lower half of the standings, it has played well recently, sweeping both Iowa and then No. 20 Minnesota at home last weekend. The Wildcats have gone on somewhat of a late-season tear, winning four of their last six matches, with all four being on home turf.
Senior middle blocker Erika Lange has paced the Wildcats for much of the season, leading the team in hitting percentage (.355) and blocks per game (1.30), and is second on the team in kills per game (4.03).
""[Northwestern] has a lot of offensive weapons,"" senior outside hitter and libero Lisa Zukowski said. ""[Lange] is really good; she is quick on the ball. It's just going to be who[ever] is working the hardest that night, will win the game.""
Illinois is also a team on a hot streak. Coming off victories against Minnesota and Iowa last weekend, the Illini moved into a tie for second place and upped their unbeaten home record to 9-0.
""At Illinois, I think their crowd is getting bigger as they do better,"" Waite said. ""Their team is playing with some confidence right now.""
Like Northwestern, Illinois is also fueled by a senior star. Senior middle blocker Lisa Argabright leads the team in kills per game (3.82), blocks per game (1.28) and hitting percentage (.384). Argabright's .384 hit percentage is good for second overall in the Big Ten.
""They are both going to be tough teams; both [have] great athletes, great competitors,"" junior outside hitter Jill Odenthal said. ""It's just going to be that much more fun to go in and play our best and hope for the best.""
After coming off a tough home loss to the Michigan State Spartans last Wednesday, the Badgers are looking to pick up some momentum heading into the final six matches of conference play.
??""The second half of the Big Ten is obviously the hardest part of the season because the season gets so long at this point, it's so hard to stay so focused on your goal,"" Odenthal said. ""I'm just hoping that our team will come together and start working harder and take an extra step and progress.""
With big matches against Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue and Indiana following this weekend, Coach Waite knows what it will take for his team to be successful.
""This is where people who become champions really step up and they really have to fight for what they want,"" Waite said. ""We want a championship and I want this team to fight hard for that title, and it starts this weekend.""
