Over the last two years, the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team has enjoyed great success, winning the Big Ten championship last year and making it all the way to the national championship game in 2013.
So, it came as a shock to many that the Badgers (ranked fifth coming into season) would lose their first game of this season to Western Kentucky in four sets.
“Our first game against Western Kentucky was really a wake up call for us,” said sophomore outside hitter Kelli Bates. “We almost needed that loss because it was an alert in the back of our head that winning is not going to be easy for us. We all have to hold each other accountable in order for us to win.”
Since its season-opening loss, No. 11 Wisconsin (6-1) has been on fire, winning its last six matches.
There was no inspirational speech from head coach Kelly Sheffield that ignited this hot streak. Instead, the key to the Badgers’ success has been based off of one simple phrase: “get better.”
It’s a phrase that every athlete lives by, and Sheffield makes sure to remind his players about this mantra every time they hit the court for practice and before every match, no matter who they are facing.
“We’re just trying to get better,” Sheffield said. “ I said the same thing to the team after our loss to Western Kentucky as I did after the rest of our wins. If we can focus on improving both as players and as a team, the wins are going to take there of themselves.”
However, Sheffield doesn’t need to be the motivator. Each player comes into practice and into matches with the same mindset so they can strive for improvement and play their best volleyball.
“Coming out of every weekend we have key things that we need to improve on for the next weekend,” said junior middle blocker Haleigh Nelson. “It’s really just a step-by-step process. We just want to get one percent better every day.”
Each week of practice has the same structure as UW prepares the same way for each team it faces and takes no one for granted.
“We prep the exact same way for every team, whether we’re playing Colgate or Penn State,” Bates said. “We scout each team at the beginning of the week and work on the scouting report in practice. The focus may change depending on the team but the goal for that weekend stays the same.”
Practicing the same way week in and week out also allows the Badgers to keep everything in perspective, especially their mindsets.
“Our goal is always to win a Big Ten championship and then a national championship but that’s not what is always on our minds,” said junior setter Lauren Carlini. “We’re always just focusing on the next match at hand.”
The Badgers are also trying to work on team chemistry, which can be an ongoing process and is something that has greatly improved since their first match of the season.
“It takes time for a team to gel,” Carlini said. “It’s not going to happen overnight. But it’s coming along well. We’re just trying to work on and off the court to get to know the new players.”
As older players on the team, Nelson and Carlini have stepped up and became leaders by mentoring the younger players. Nelson has become a teacher on the court and leads by being energetic and supportive.
“I really try to lead by example by bringing a lot of energy and enthusiasm into the gym,” Nelson said. “I’ll help them by giving them positive feedback, teaching things I know really well, especially blocking schemes so they can get familiar with the techniques faster.”
Carlini also helps mentor the younger players on the court, but she stresses that getting to know them off the court is just as important.
“A lot of that has to do with making connections with them both on and off the court,” said Carlini. “We [the experiences players] need to make them them feel confident, and feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves.”
As they move forward with their season, the Badgers feel confident and continue to stress the need to trust their coaches and themselves.
“We just have to keep trusting ourselves and trust the coaches that what they will be doing will be good for us in the long run,” said Bates. “Every player on this team is here for a reason and each one is going to help get us to where we want to go.”
