If one had to pick a word to describe Amy Bladow, it might be a difficult task to find a single word that sums up everything about her. For the sophomore middle blocker on the No. 23 Wisconsin women's volleyball team that has a future ambition to open up a clothing shop, has said her favorite athlete is Dennis Rodman and is decked out in a nose ring and a tongue ring that she keeps in during game time, the best word to describe her could be 'eclectic'.
While Bladow's style may be considered eclectic off the court, she is all business when game time rolls around. Last year as a freshman, Bladow led the team in blocks with 0.77 a game and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. This year she is already starting out on the right track and her 1.44 blocks a game average is once again leading the team.
Though her stats may make it seem like Bladow fit right in upon coming to Madison last year, she experienced quite a reality check during her first few days as a Badger.
\You come in and you expect to be amazing, but everyone that comes here is amazing,"" Bladow said. ""You come in and there are 16 girls that are just so much better than you.""
Besides the intimidation Bladow felt from her teammates' talent during the first season, she was also miles away from the place she calls home, Monument, Colo. Luckily for her, fitting in with the rest of the team was not a hard task.
""It's a very loving environment especially for kids that come from far away,"" Bladow said. ""This is your new family and we just do a really nice job of taking care of everyone so it's easier to come out and play. It's definitely been hard coming from Colorado but that's kind of what I wanted. ""I wanted to do my own thing out here.""
Now that her first year is behind her, Bladow has had the chance to grow. She commented that after only two games into her sophomore season she feels like she has improved on everything in her game but mainly in her defensive skills and her overall mental game.
There is always room for improvement though and Bladow as well as the rest of her teammates have many things they are hoping to perfect as the season continues.
""We're really going to work on our consistency,"" Bladow said. ""Another one of our team and my personal goals is to come out and play like champions everyday in practice and just bring it every day. We have to know that if we're going to win games we have to play like we're going to win in practice everyday.""
As a team, the Badgers have already experienced some ups and downs in their first two matches of the season. Their weaknesses were unveiled when they were upset in a four-game match against Missouri last Friday but worked together to defeat No. 12 Georgia Tech the next night.
""I think that was a really big step for us just mentally to be able to come back after that Missouri game and play like we did with Georgia Tech,"" Bladow said. ""I think it just says a lot about us as a team and just the fight and the energy that we have and that we can bring the court all the time.""
Bladow and the rest of her teammates will head out to Kansas this weekend for their first road trip. The Badgers will have to prepare themselves for two games on Saturday, 10 a.m. against Denver and 7 p.m. against Kansas, and then a final game against Rhode Island at noon on Sunday.
""This will be the first time in a long time that we play two matches in one day,"" Bladow said. ""I think that will say a lot just how we play as a team and our mental focus and our energy, and enthusiasm. Playing two matches in one day is always kind of tough but we're really looking forward to a lot of competition this weekend.\
