After a stunning loss to unranked Illinois on Sunday, the Badgers are looking to kick off the second half of the Big Ten season with a bang.
The No. 15 Badgers (6-4 Big Ten, 17-5 Overall) head on the road to play the Indiana Hoosiers (1-9, 9-12) on Friday, and the Purdue Boilermakers (6-4, 15-6) on Saturday.
“We’re pretty hungry. Every time we’ve lost, we look forward to the next time we get a chance to play,” junior outside hitter Deme Morales said.
Indiana is coming off their only Big Ten win of the year, and against a solid Michigan State squad nonetheless. In Wisconsin’s previous match against the Hoosiers in Madison, UW won 3-1, but the score doesn’t say it all.
“[Indiana] came onto our court and gave us fits. They’re really good offensively, and they’ve got good hitters all over the place,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said.
A key for Wisconsin to beat Indiana is exploiting their weak defense. IU ranks last in the Big Ten in blocks, digs and opponents’ hitting percentage. According to freshman setter Lauren Carlini, the Badgers are looking to get freshman middle blocker Haleigh Nelson and junior middle blocker
Dominique Thompson involved in the offense to find holes in the Hoosier defense.
However, that is easier said than done. The Badger offense had a hard time against Illinois, missing opportunities to finish off points.
“Our offense has been struggling lately, but as long as we are terminating and staying in system, we’re going to have a good chance of winning this weekend,” Carlini said.
On the flip side, there is Purdue, who is led by current Big Ten defensive player of the week KiKi Jones. Jones, a junior middle blocker, is a dual threat. She’s in the top five in the Big Ten in blocks as well as hitting percentage.
The Boilermakers are coming in off four straight wins, including wins against No. 8 Nebraska, and No. 17 Michigan. Since the first weekend of Big Ten play, they are 6-2.
“Purdue is probably the hottest team in the league, outside of Penn State,” Sheffield said. “They’ve done better against the same teams than we have.”
For UW to beat Purdue, defensive consistency will be key.
It’s something the team has been keying in on the last few weeks in practice. Their improvement can be seen by their climb up the Big Ten rankings in digs per set, which they are now ranked first in.
“We pride ourselves in being a very good defensive team. It’s all about making good blocking leads, then going hard in the backcourt,” Sheffield said.
A key for Badger success against both teams is the success of junior outside hitter Ellen Chapman. Chapman leads Wisconsin in kills, and ranks eighth in the Big Ten in that category. She doesn’t get the publicity that some more flashy hitters get, like Purdue’s Jones, but she has been a driving force in the team’s success this year.
“[Chapman] has really come into her own the last couple of weeks, and you can tell she is really driven to lead this team where they want to go,” Sheffield said. “I think she’s in for a monster second half of the Big Ten season.”
The Badgers are higher ranked, and have a better record, than both teams, but they do not pay attention to things like that.
“We play every team with the same attitude, that this is the most important game we are playing. Records don’t come into account,” Morales said.
Playing teams for a second time, UW needs to be prepared to go up against teams that can predict their every move. The key is preparation, and that is one thing that the Badgers have done well this week. They look to come out of this weekend’s road trip with redemption for last weekend’s slip up.
