After beating No. 12 Purdue and Indiana last weekend, the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers (11-5 Big Ten, 18-6 overall) jumped up a spot in the national polls. With a road trip east to face Ohio State and Maryland this weekend, the Badgers have a chance to keep the positive momentum rolling as the regular season winds down.
Wisconsin heads first to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (3-13, 12-16) in a matchup that heavily favors the Badgers. Wisconsin’s middle blockers, senior Tionna Williams and sophomore Dana Rettke, should have the edge over a much shorter Buckeyes roster that features just one player — Vanja Bukilic — over 6 feet, 4 inches.
The two clubs faced off earlier this season at the UW Field House with UW taking all three sets by a score of 25-19, 25-17, 25-15. Ohio State has struggled mightily with strong opponents this season; they’re 1-7 against teams currently ranked in the top 25, the lone win coming at home over No. 7 Penn State. The Buckeyes enter Friday night’s matchup riding an eight-game losing streak.
The Badgers face a quick turnaround Saturday morning as they head further east to College Park to face the Maryland Terrapins (8-8, 17-11) for the first time this season. Maryland has managed to stay afloat in the arduous Big Ten this season. The Terrapins are coming off a strong weekend where they swept both then-No. 14 Michigan and Ohio State on the road. However, Maryland is yet to defeat a ranked team at home this season.
Wisconsin currently sits in a tie with Nebraska for fourth place in the Big Ten. While No. 3 Minnesota has all but wrapped up a conference championship with a 16-0 record, sole possession of third place is still a realistic finish for the Badgers.
As Wisconsin faces a light schedule to finish the season, the Badgers will want to focus on winning one match at a time to try to overcome Penn State and Nebraska in the final standings.
