After playing most of their games at home in the first half of the Big Ten season, the No. 5 Badgers begin the second half of Big Ten play Wednesday on the road against No. 13 Purdue (8-2 Big Ten, 18-4 overall).
Wisconsin (9-1, 18-2) is on a dominating nine game win streak, having only dropped one set during the streak. Much of the recent play by the Badgers can be attributed to their stout defense.
After struggling with their blocking during non-conference games, the Badgers have turned it around by ranking second in the Big Ten with 3.00 blocks per set in conference matches.
In their last six matches, the Badgers have out blocked opponents by an average of more than five blocks per match. Over this span, sophomore middle blocker Haleigh Nelson is averaging 1.72 blocks per set, redshirt senior middle blocker Dominique Thompson is averaging 1.41 blocks per set and senior outside hitter Courtney Thomas is averaging 1.17.
The improvement in blocking and backside rotations has helped the Badgers hold opponents to a .145 hitting percentage in Big Ten play.
This dominating defense is in addition to a balanced offense, in which all five starting hitters are averaging 2.29 or more kills per set. This all culminated on Sunday when the Badgers beat Nebraska for the first time in 30 years.
“Our squad understands the history and the tradition and it’s been that long, it gets to the point where you say, all right, enough is enough, that’s too long,” Badger head coach Kelly Sheffield said.
While Sheffield knows this was a big win, he also knows his team has a quick turnaround and cannot get caught up in Sundays win.
“They’ve got a lefty on the right, Annie Drews is probably one of the players who is in the running for Big Ten Player of the Year,” Sheffield said. “They’ve got a three-headed monster in the middle, three different players that are awfully good ... It’s a team that can go an awful long way. I think they’re really talented.”
Sheffield may have a little extra motivation to win this game as Purdue’s head coach Dave Shondell and assistant coach John Shondell are from Muncie, Indiana, just like Sheffield.
Additionally, both coaches and Sheffield have coaching experience at Muncie Burris High School and are alumni of Ball State.
Purdue is currently second in the Big Ten behind the Badgers. Just like Wisconsin, Purdue lost to No. 6 Penn State at home but at least put up more of a fight by pushing the Nittany Lions to five sets.
The Boilermakers’ other loss came on the road to No. 10 Illinois, who Wisconsin beat on the road earlier in the season 3-1.
If Wisconsin beats Purdue on Wednesday, they will be breaking another losing streak, as they have not beaten Purdue on the road since 2007. Wisconsin leads the overall series 39-30 but in West Lafayette, Purdue leads the series 18-15.
After the Badgers take on Purdue, they will head to Indiana for the second leg of their four-match road trip.
