It is common for teams to let down and fail to continue building momentum following a huge win. However, the Wisconsin women's volleyball team (10-3 Big Ten, 16-5 overall), which upset then-No. 2 Minnesota Oct. 30, passed the test by sweeping the Northwestern Wildcats (3-10, 8-15) in front of 3,935 fans at the Field House Wednesday night.
Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite was pleased with his team's performance.
\It's pretty hard to come back four days later after such a huge win and play at the same level right away,"" Waite said. ""I think it took us half the first game to get rolling, and once we did, we really separated ourselves from Northwestern and pulled away.""
Though down early in the first game, the Badgers came back and won 30-19. They followed the first game with dominating 30-19 and 30-20 wins. Senior outside hitter Marian Weidner led the offensive attack with 14 kills on the night. Fellow outside hitter junior Aubrey Meierotto followed with 13 kills. Wisconsin finished with 56 kills while the Wildcats had 36.
""We had to bring our own fire, our own energy and do things on our side of the court,"" Meierotto said. ""I think that everything has started to come together ... I think that after our early season losses, we learned to grow as a team.""
Since the Badgers lost to Minnesota Oct. 8, they have since gone 8-0. And as the team continues winning, the level of play increases as well. Freshman setter Jackie Simpson, who was replaced with sophomore Katie Lorenzen earlier this season, has drastically improved her game. Simpson had 45 sets in last night's match, compared to 28 by Northwestern setter Drew Robertson.
On the defensive side of the court, freshman libero Jocelyn Wack led the Badgers with 18 digs. Weidner followed with eight digs.
Waite thinks the Northwestern win and continued success will propel the team when it travels to Illinois Friday. But he also believes there is much room for improvement.
""There are plenty of areas to improve on, and the players come every day to the gym to work on it,"" Waite said. ""It's not about the winning. That's secondary. We work on learning skills and reaching a higher level of play. Winning then comes.""
Serving played a role in Wisconsin's win Wednesday, as Meierotto, Wack and senior outside hitter Jill Odenthal each contributed two service aces in the win. Odenthal also knocked down nine kills, while middle blockers freshman Taylor Reineke and junior Sheila Shaw each had eight.
Shaw thinks the Badgers' current trend of overcoming opponents is due to a relaxed yet focused attitude on the court. The winning makes playing enjoyable.
""[It's] lots of fun. Period,"" Shaw said. ""We have real chemistry on the court now. We don't play for ourselves. It's not about, 'Hey, I'm going to try to get a good kill.' We play for each other.""
