\We'll take a day off, and then get ready for Minnesota.""
Head coach Pete Waite and his No. 13 UW women's volleyball team certainly earned their day off, as the Badger brooms were out en masse at the Field House this weekend.
The team swept all three matches of the InnTowner Invitational to improve their record to 8-1 while making an emphatic statement to get back into the top ten. Dispatching three very good teams in Villanova (10-3), Valparaiso (9-3), and No. 11 UCLA (7-2), Wisconsin is sitting pretty heading into its Big Ten opener next weekend.
""Our confidence is sky- high,"" said tournament MVP senior Sheila Shaw. ""It'll be really good going into the Big Ten weekend with this much confidence.""
The confidence began to build Friday night, as the Badgers ended Villanova's 10-match winning streak and undefeated season with a sound victory 30-21, 30-10, 30-18. Wisconsin thrashed the Wildcat offense, holding them to a stunning negative .333 hitting percentage in the second game (only two kills compared to 11 errors) and to a .019 hitting percentage for the match.
Freshman Audra Jeffers once again led the team in kills with 14, while junior Maria Carlini added 12 of her own. Carlini was also one of three Badgers with more than 10 digs, the others being all-tournament sophomore Jocelyn Wack and sophomore Amanda Berkley.
After such a dominating win, one might expect UW to come out a little flat the next night. This was not the case, however, as they took Valparaiso to the mat, winning 30-21, 30-21, 30-22. The Crusaders were not able to get into any rhythm at all, as there was only one lead change the entire match. Wisconsin was able to put up a .257 hitting percentage, well above the .136 that Valpo has been holding teams to all year. Setting up that offense was all-tournament sophomore Jackie Simpson, who had 48 assists along with some defensive duty, acquiring 11 digs as well. The match-high dig total, however, belonged to defensive stalwart Jocelyn Wack, who had an amazing 22 digs, tying her for a second all-time record in a three-game match.
""We've been taking a lot of pride in our blocking and defense in spring and preseason,"" Wack said. ""It's a lot of movement towards the ball that we've been doing, and just the blockers being in the right positions.""
With two wins behind them, Wisconsin was able to come through in the clutch and continue its trend of not playing more than three games, and winning the highly competitive match against UCLA 30-26, 30-28, 30-23.
After winning the first game, the Badgers were down 16-22 in the second, until Jackie Simpson caught fire. One kill, three assists, eight serves and one broken UCLA spirit later, Wisconsin took a 24-22 lead that they would not relinquish. Simpson dominated the match, with 41 assists, seven digs and seven blocks.
Next up for the Badgers is the major Big Ten duel with No. 5 and last year's runner-up Minnesota on Friday.
