With only two seniors on the University of Wisconsin volleyball team, one might assume that the Badgers are in a rebuilding year. However, do not tell that to the seven freshmen who compose nearly half the UW roster.
Two of the freshmen-setter Jackie Simpson and libero Jocelyn Wack-have started in all of the first five matches this season, and middle blocker Taylor Reineke broke into the starting lineup this past weekend.
\They are making progress and I like that,"" Head Coach Pete Waite said about the freshmen girls. ""And they are very competitive. They have great spirit and they have great skill. So those things are good to start with and then as they mature, they'll just get better and better.""
It is hard to imagine just how talented this freshmen class will be in the upcoming years at UW. Wack joined her teammate, junior middle blocker Sheila Shaw, as a member of the all-tournament team this past weekend at the Jayhawk Invitational. Shaw was not at all surprised by the performance of her teammate, but was even more impressed with the composure of the true freshman.
""I could not tell at all if Jocelyn was nervous,"" Shaw said. ""I felt like I was looking back at a senior playing, because she was so calm and she is like our foundation, our rock, and she is our freshman. It's just awesome to see that.""
It often takes freshmen more time to get involved simply because they are new to the program. But both Wack and Reineke agree that it is the speed of the collegiate game that has been the biggest adjustment from the high school and club levels.
""The new speed is definitely the hardest thing to adjust to. It's a lot faster, it's harder to get out there and move but the coaches have made it a lot easier,"" Reineke said.
""It was hard at first but I am getting used to it a little bit more now that I am playing in games,"" Wack added.
Indeed, the excitement of playing athletics at the collegiate level has been a thrill for the freshmen. Wack, a Salem, Wis. native, admits that it has been great to be playing college volleyball at the college program she has followed for years.
""It's an unbelievable feeling [to be playing for Wisconsin],"" Wack said. ""Even coming to games in high school I was like, I really want to play here, and then when you do get to play in front of family and friends who come from across the state it's a really cool feeling to have them cheer you on in front of 4,000 fans. It's unreal.""
For Reineke, a Naperville, Ill. native, the thrill of playing in front of a capacity crowd at the Field House has been a remarkable experience, one that took time to adjust to.
""I was scared. There were just so many people, and there were alumni and everyone is watching you and it gets a little nerve-wracking, but everyone is supportive at the same time, so it's scary. But at the same time it is the coolest thing ever being out there in front of thousands of people.""
With the adjustments to college athletics-playing in front of large crowds, traveling on the weekends and the demands of academics-it is often the upperclassman's responsibility to make sure the freshmen settle in and progress. Shaw welcomes the responsibility of making sure that the freshmen are able to mature in the UW program.
""Just being there and helping them out makes the transition to college easier. A lot of them are middle blockers so I was just giving them everything I have learned over the past two years,"" Shaw said.
