Wisconsin volleyball (3-1 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) has two road games this weekend, Friday at No. 14 Ohio State and Saturday at No. 4 Penn State. These are the final two games of the Badgers’ four game road trip. It’s also their first road trip of the conference season.
“There’s elements of the road that can be tough. You’re gone, missing some Friday classes,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “But there’s also the element of it that you’re in a hotel room, getting some more sleep with a bit more down time.”
No. 14 Ohio State (2-2, 14-2) is coming into the game off of a grueling 5-set win against Indiana last weekend. OSU boasts one of the most powerful offenses in the Big Ten, ranking number two in both assists and kills.
Individually, senior Kaitlyn Leary leads the Big Ten in kills and points, and junior Taylor Sherwin leads in assists, creating a pass and kill combo that is hard to beat.
Solid fundamentals on defense will be key against Leary and Sherwin.
“When you have someone on the opposite side of the net who you know will get a lot of balls our mindset is to go after them as hard as we can,” freshman blocker Haleigh Nelson said. “I just want to go up and stuff [Leary].”
No. 4 Penn State (3-1, 12-2) is a team that has been good year in and year out under veteran coach Russ Rose. This year, their biggest team strength is defense, ranking second in the Big Ten in blocks, and leading the Big Ten in opposing hitting percentage. Players to watch out for include Big Ten block leader senior Katie Slay, and Big Ten ace leader junior Micha Hancock.
To beat Penn State, the Badgers will need to play well in the transition game, which has been a key point in practice this week according to Sheffield and Nelson. Spreading the ball around will also be crucial.
“We’re always looking to get the ball to our big scorers like Ellen [Chapman] and Courtney [Thomas], so whenever we can do that, it’s big for us,” freshman setter Lauren Carlini said. “If they’re going to double our big three, then Deme [Morales] and everyone else needs to step up and put the balls away.”
As the Big Ten season goes on, all the teams will become more familiar with each other. It will become key to watch film and learn how the opponent operates.
“Following a scouting report is something we’ve done an OK job of, hopefully we get better at it as we go along,” Sheffield said.
While Ohio State and Penn State both have good players, the Badgers are confident in their counters to opposing teams’ strengths.
“I think we match up really well with them because we have great hitters and great defense, so scouting well will allow us to win,” Carlini said.
Despite a loss in their last match, UW moved up in the rankings to No. 19. Team defense has been a focusing point as they rank second in the Big Ten in opposing hitting percentage, and third in digs-per-set. Even with a high ranking, the team feels like they can surprise some of their critics.
“I think people don’t see that we’re the kind of team that’s as tough as they come,” Carlini said. “We don’t care who’s on the other side of the net, we’re going to go out and compete for every point.”
While competing with the best may psych out some squads, playing against top tier teams like PSU and OSU doesn’t phase the Badgers at all.
“We’re really excited for the matches this weekend. Every match in the Big Ten is a challenge, and that’s really fun,” Nelson said.
