This past week was not kind to the No. 20 Wisconsin volleyball team, which, after losing two matches on the road to unranked Iowa and border rival No. 12 Minnesota, dropped two spots in the national polls. But the Badgers (10-4 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) have an opportunity to gain back some ground in the conference when they return home for the first time in three weeks to play No. 22 Michigan (13-1, 1-1) and Ohio State (9-5, 0-2) this weekend.
I [look at] both these teams this weekend, and it's not so much as them as it is us,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""We've got to really play well on our side of the net. If we do that, I think we'll do very well.""
Michigan comes into Madison fresh off its only loss of the season last weekend at Michigan State. The Wolverines have established themselves as an elite offensive team thus far in the season, putting together a .279 hitting percentage as a team and ranking third in the conference in kills with 14.53 per game. They are also best in the Big Ten in aces, with 78 in 47 sets.
Freshman defensive specialist Sloane Donhoff leads the Big Ten in that department with 20 so far this season.
Senior middle blocker Beth Karpiak is the Wolverines' best force up front, averaging a solid .429 hitting percentage on 282 attempts. Despite their offensive prowess, however, their blocking game ranks ninth in the conference and could be a point of weakness come Friday.
""We'll bring in a three-hitter offense in the front and maybe some pipes out of the back row, something that will be difficult for them to deal with,"" Waite said. ""We hope to take advantage of it.""
Though they are not recognized as a force on the national stage, Ohio State has a great deal of experience against tough competition already this year.
Three of their five losses came at the hands of top-25 opponents, including a five-set defeat in which the Buckeyes nearly handed No. 14 Wichita State its first loss of the season. They also have a great blocking defense to lean on, which is ranked third in the Big Ten.
Junior middle blocker Kristen Dozier leads the team with 47 stuffs on the year and also ranks 10th in the conference in points.
Nonetheless, Wisconsin has a lot of weapons on its side of the court to counter Michigan and Ohio State's strengths. Senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers leads the Badgers in the blocking department with 60 on the year and ranks third amongst her teammates in kills with 118. Junior right-side hitter Katherine Dykstra and junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner have been the biggest offensive threats on the year for Wisconsin, throwing down 132 and 165 kills, respectively, and collectively accounting for 347 points this year.
""We're getting the ball to a lot of different people,"" Dolgner said. ""We have as many as four or five different options that we can always go to, which is really nice '¦ you know that [Jeffers and Dykstra] can always put the ball down, and we have three options in the front row when we're all out there.""
First serve for Friday's match against Michigan is set for 7 p.m., and Sunday's match is slated for 1 p.m. The Ohio State match is on Student Day at the Field House, which means free admission for any student who presents a valid student ID.
