The UW women's volleyball team (0-2 Big Ten, 6-4 overall) opened the Big Ten season on the wrong foot with losses against No. 20 Ohio State (2-0, 11-0) and No. 4 Penn State (2-0, 10-0) at the Field House this past weekend. These two defeats mark the first time since 1987 that the Badgers kicked off their conference season 0-2, and the first time since 1995 that the team lost two consecutive Big Ten games at home.
\Right now it's tough to find positives (from this weekend) that we've shown in other matches,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite said. ""Our last home tournament they were capable of some great things, but as a group they have to show when they walk in the gym that they're capable of playing at a high level every time.""
The Badgers started the weekend with a 30-20, 23-30, 30-18, 30-24 loss to OSU on Friday. In the defeat, senior Jill Odenthal became the 13th Badger to record her 1,000th kill when she contributed 17 on the night. She also tallied a .417 hitting percentage, but those numbers were nothing compared to Buckeye senior Stacey Gordon's performance. As one of the best players in the Big Ten, she led both teams with 27 kills and 20 digs.
""She just comes out of everywhere and has every shot imaginable,"" Waite said of Gordon. ""It is very tough to practice because you're just not used to that.""
Despite dropping the first game, the Badgers came back and gained temporary momentum in the second. They held a commanding 26-18 lead late in the game after two of Odenthal's kills, but it was not until a block by freshmen setter Jackie Simpson and junior middle blocker Shelia Shaw that the Badgers wrapped up the game, 30-23.
The Buckeyes came back determined, though, and captured the final two games, as well as the match.
""We started slow in the first and third (games),"" Waite said. ""We didn't pass well on target. They were serving aggressively and we weren't able to get it to the net to start our offense in the middle and open it up for the outsides.""
With OSU behind them, the Badgers were hoping to avenge the loss and take their first Big Ten victory over favored Penn State on Sunday. Once again, though, the Badgers exposed their inconsistencies and bowed out in three games (30-19, 30-26, 30-28).
""I'm really disappointed in the way we played today,"" Waite said following the PSU game. ""We didn't come to compete. We just saw some glimpses of what we're capable of in the third game, and I don't have explanation for the way we came out and played.""
Early in the first game, the Badgers were able to stay close with the Nittany Lions. Neither team earned a commanding lead until PSU scored five straight points and put the score at 22-17. Odenthal registered a kill on the next play for Wisconsin, but Penn State went on to score nine of the final 10 points to win the first game.
The next two games ended the same way for the Badgers, but they remained within striking distance for a majority of the games. Although Penn State may have been the better team on paper, Waite thought his team's loss was the result of other reasons.
""I don't think it was necessarily they were playing great, I think we broke down,"" Waite said. ""We have to be consistent through games throughout the match and then we'll have a shot at beating any team that walks in the gym. This team is not one of the most dominant Penn State teams they have ever had. They were just very consistent, and it was us today that played the lower level.""
Penn State had a pair of key players to their advantage that helped them keep the Badgers off their backs. Senior outside hitter Ashley Pederson and freshman outside hitter Kate Price used their over 6-foot height to their advantage and their 14 kills each led both teams.
On a positive note for Wisconsin, freshman libero Jocelyn Wack tied a career-high 22 digs while leading both teams in the category. Odenthal also added a team high 10 kills.
With these two losses behind them, Wisconsin is still in search of the consistency that Waite has been stressing all season. Whether they find it or not, the Badgers will still be in search of their first Big Ten victory when they travel to Northwestern on Wednesday.
""We have to come to every practice, every day, committed to not having another weekend like this,"" Odenthal said. ""We plan to come out as a unit. I felt like everybody at times had a good couple plays, but we're definitely not clicking. We just have to get a flow going, and hopefully we'll find it somewhere soon.""
