In front of over 4,000 fans at the Field House, including a large student crowd on student night, the Wisconsin volleyball team defended their unblemished record with a straight set sweep over UW- Green Bay, 25-9, 25-18, 25-20.
The Badgers (11-0) have lost just two sets all season and have yet to play a fifth set. The team continued this stellar play immediately by taking the first set in dominant fashion, tied as the most dominant with a similar 25-9 first set win over Loyola-Chicago earlier.
""To beat a team with that kind of point spread means you're playing some very good ball with some very good focus on the court,"" head coach Pete Waite said.
Green Bay matched the Badgers in play for the first 11 points of the opening set. With the score at 6-5 in the Phoenix's favour however, Wisconsin took complete control, winning an incredible thirteen straight points in a row. The Badgers, overall, took 20 of the final 23 points to cruise to an easy first set victory.
With the starters in full force for Wisconsin in that opening set, the Badgers compiled a gaudy .343 hitting percentage, compared to a dismal -.081 for Green Bay.
Waite elected to introduce more reserve players in the second and third sets, and although their play failed to match that of the first set, these players definitely took full advantage of their opportunities.
""As the match went on, we were able to insert some people and get them some court time because we need to improve our depth and the confidence in those players,"" Waite said.
Waite was especially impressed by the play of sophomore Bailey Reshel who started the match for Wisconsin.
""Bailey Reshel, five kills and no errors, that's pretty darn good,"" Waite said. ""I'd take that any day of the week, I mean, that's fantastic.""
In those second and third sets, the Badgers and Phoenix just about matched each other point for point early on. However, Wisconsin never trailed by more than one point throughout the match.
For the Badgers' players, to play in front of a large home crowd, including a substantial student section, was a huge boost. Especially for recent U.S. implant and Norwegian native, freshman Julie Mikaelsen, a large crowd is definitely a unique situation.
""For me it's really cool because I'm used to having maybe 50 people watch our games if we're lucky in Norway, so for me, that many people watching— I think it's awesome.""
With an 11-0 record, tied for the best start in program history and tied as well with the total amount of wins in the entire 2009 season, Wisconsin next turns their focus to Big Ten play and Ohio State next Friday at 7p.m. in the Field House.
""We've done everything we wanted to do for our pre-conference section of the season,"" Waite said. ""[We've] gained a lot of confidence.""
