DEKALB, ILL.— With a perfect 10-0 record on the line, the Wisconsin volleyball team marched into DeKalb, Ill Tuesday night facing an 11-0 Northern Illinois team and a small but deafening crowd. Less than 80 minutes later, the Badgers stepped off the court with a convincing straight set sweep, winning 25-18, 25-19, 25-18.
The Huskies packed the 800-capacity Convocation Center, but not without some definite help from the Wisconsin faithful. The standing-room-only crowd of 950 watching Tuesday night's game broke the school record for attendance at a volleyball game.
""Obviously a record crowd was great, and a lot of that was because we brought a lot of people too,"" head coach Pete Waite said. ""There were a lot of fans here [including] the student section from the Fieldhouse, so that was fun to see.""
The tight confines of Victor E. Court resulted in an often deafening atmosphere. The Badgers remained un-fazed however shaking off aggressive taunts from the NIU students during serves and keeping composure throughout any level of noise.
""They're resilient. I think they weren't fazed by a whole lot, and we talked about that, about staying focused and not letting any distractions get to you while we're in an environment like this,"" Waite said.
The Badgers and the Huskies matched each other virtually point for point in the beginning of the first set. With the score tied 11-11 though, Wisconsin took control and never looked back, winning five of the next six points and cruising to a crucial first-set victory.
The Badgers out-attacked NIU in the opening set, taking the strong edge in kills, 16-9. Freshmen Julie Mikaelsen and Dominique Thompson collected four kills apiece, while senior Kim Kuzma hit the floor hard throughout the first set with nine digs.
From the end of that first set, the Badgers never relinquished their confidence and took full control for the rest of the match. The Huskies' focus also began to falter in the second set, as NIU committed five service errors.
Although NIU came out of the locker room strong for the third set taking a 3-0 lead early, Wisconsin won the next four points and five of the next six to go ahead. The Badgers never trailed for the rest of the set, at one point taking an eight point edge over the Huskie,s on their way to sealing the sweep.
This match was especially significant for Waite as the former NIU coach returned to DeKalb to take on the Huskies for the first time since becoming Wisconsin's head coach in 1999.
However, Tuesday night was also a homecoming of sorts for Oswego, Ill. native and freshman Annemarie Hickey. Many of Hickey's former high-school teammates were in the stands along with family, and she responded by putting together an impressive showing both from behind the service line and on the court. Hickey finished the night with two service aces and four digs.
""I was really excited to come and see all my friends from high school and even my family. It really got me excited, got me pumped up for the game,"" Hickey said.
Coach Waite and his Badgers will face their final non-conference foe this Friday at the Fieldhouse when UW-Green Bay travels to Madison, and right now, this is a Wisconsin squad firing on all cylinders and operating with an incredible amount of confidence.
