The Wisconsin volleyball team, taking full advantage of playing at home for the first two rounds, advanced Saturday night to the NCAA Regional with a stirring sweep over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning 36-34, 30-16 and 30-16. Wisconsin beat the Loyola Ramblers Friday night, also in a sweep, to set up the match with the Irish.
Saturday night things got off to a rough start. Wisconsin came out sluggish and struggled early adjusting to Notre Dame, a team considerably taller than the Loyola team they played the previous night. The Irish opened up a big lead in the first game, leaving the Badgers searching for answers. Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite tried timeouts, and when he was out of them went to his deep bench and found sophomore middle blocker Amy Bladow to bring life to the team.
\We're searching for something at that point,"" Waite said. ""Bringing in a player like Bladow brings energy to the team. I think that's when [the rally] started, when she came into the game.""
However, none of the 2,937 fans at the UW Field House could have expected the major turnaround that gave Wisconsin the win in game one. Trailing 29-23, Wisconsin staved off six straight game points from the Irish, staging an incredible rally to tie the game at 29.
Wisconsin and Notre Dame then battled back and forth, trading points before Wisconsin was finally able to steal it 36-34.
""We got stuck in a rotation, and needed to get one side-out and we couldn't,"" Notre Dame Head Coach Debbie Brown said. ""Wisconsin didn't give up and they kept coming back until they got that first game.""
""That first game was critical, we came from behind 29-23. Our kids kept battling and our crowd kept us in there. Winning that game was huge for us,"" Waite said.
Notre Dame looked dazed and confused after the tough first-game loss and the momentum shifted in Wisconsin's favor. Strong play from sophomore outside hitter Maria Carlini, who struggled early in game one, was one of the major reasons why Wisconsin rolled in games two and three. Carlini, who played perhaps her best game of the season, led the Badgers with 15 kills.
""The coaches just told me to shake it off, just to go out there and be aggressive,"" Carlini said.
Junior middle blocker Sheila Shaw showed why she was named to the All-Big Ten team this season with strong play all night. She finished the night with 14 kills, but her blocking was where she really made her presence felt.
Wisconsin out-blocked Notre Dame, a team known for its blocking, 15-8 on the night, with Shaw contributing eight.
To set up the match with Notre Dame, Wisconsin had to defeat Loyola. Loyola, a smaller-sized team than most of the Big Ten, played a scrappy game, battling extremely hard on defense. The Ramblers finished the night with 57 digs.
""[Loyola] is a very good team. They play hard and they're great defensively, they made it very difficult for us to win the match,"" Waite said.
Wisconsin could never get much separation on the scoreboard as the Ramblers hung tough all night with the Badgers, even with their best player, senior outside hitter Nichol Amberg, completely shut down by the Badger defense. Wisconsin stuffed Amberg all night, along with a lot of the other Loyola hitters, and finished the match with 18.5 blocks while holding Loyola to an anemic .085 hitting percentage.
""[Wisconsin] keyed on her, and we had to score in other places to stay in the game,"" Loyola Head Coach Tim O'Brien said.
The Ramblers relished the underdog role, but in the end, Wisconsin's overall size and skill proved to be the difference. Senior outside hitter Jill Odenthal, playing in her final weekend at the Field House, was extremely strong all night, leading the Badgers with 12 kills.
With the victories this weekend, Wisconsin will make a short trip to Green Bay for the NCAA Regional. They square off Friday night against the Hawaii Warriors, who are undefeated and ranked second in the country.
