The Wisconsin volleyball team is now 3-0 in the Big Ten (14-1 overall) for the first time since 2007 after defeating Iowa on Wednesday. The Badgers now hit the road to play No. 10 Nebraska (0-2, 9-2) Saturday night at 7 p.m.
After losing the first set to Iowa, the team came back to win three straight sets and secure the match.
“Consistency would be one of the last things I would use to describe that match, and that can be highly frustrating,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “But we stayed with it last night, we didn’t give up on ourselves, and we battled as a team.”
Outside hitter Annemarie Hickey agrees that the team needs to stay focused and maintain their consistency in order to win against Nebraska.
“Going into this next match, I think our team needs to do a better job of staying consistent with our passing, hitting, setting and staying consistent throughout the entire game and not just one set,” Hickey said.
Leading the Big Ten in kills, Nebraska poses a significant threat offensively at the net with key hitters like senior Kelsey Robinson.
“There are teams that we’re playing where you can ignore a hitter or two, and this isn’t one of them,” Sheffield said.
In order to stop Nebraska’s strong force at the net, the Badgers needs to be on their toes defensively. Better digging will help open up options on offense that were not previously there for Wisconsin.
“We need to focus on keeping the ball off the ground so that [freshman setter Lauren Carlini] can set all three options,” Hickey said. “That’s what we’ve been stressing at practice, always making an effort and always going for the ball.”
Nebraska will be the toughest and highest ranked team Wisconsin has played thus far.
“I think it’s an opportunity to show people how tough we are and how much we want it, but we’ll definitely need to pick up our game,” middle back Dominique Thompson said.
After Nebraska, the team faces a series of matches against Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan State, all top ranked teams in the Big Ten. Sheffield believes that playing these high quality opponents will put the team at an advantage for future matches.
Being undefeated in the conference so far has certainly raised the level of confidence on the team, Sheffield believes, but the team is focusing on taking one game at a time.
“You can’t get caught up in the wins,” Sheffield said. “It’s about playing the right way.”
