The no. 4 Wisconsin women’s volleyball team (18-2, 10-2) is on the road yet again, facing two more Big Ten teams before heading back home. They will first face the Northwestern Wildcats (10-13, 5-7) on Friday, before traveling to Iowa on Saturday to face the Hawkeyes (3-19, 1-11) for the second time this season.
The Badgers dropped their second match this past weekend against the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue was the first team to hit over .200 against the Badgers this season and the Badgers offense was not able to connect until it was too late in the match.
Despite the loss, the Badgers only dropped one spot in the rankings, now leaving them ranked fourth. Wisconsin is tied for first with Nebraska in the Big Ten rankings.
First up this weekend for the Badgers is the Wildcats. This is the first time this season that the two teams have met and they meet again at the UW Field House in just two weeks. Junior Temi Thomas-Ailara leads the Wildcats in kills with 350 so far this season. Thomas-Ailara averages 3.80 kills per set, while also leading the team in service aces with 36. Senior Megan Miller leads the team with 3.00 digs per set and follows Thomas-Ailara in aces with 23.
The Midwest battle continues with a match against the Hawkeyes, which is their second time meeting this eason. Iowa has only won one match since their encounter with the Badgers, which was on Oct. 6. The match was a four set win against Michigan State.
The Hawkeyes are led in kills by senior Courtney Buzzerio, who has 314 kills this season and averages 3.975 kills per set. Buzzerio dominates the front row for the Hawkeyes, while also playing back row and averaging 1.38 digs per set. Junior Mari Hinkle leads the team in digs, averaging 2.81 digs per set.
First serve against Northwestern starts at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Evanston, Ill. Following the match against the Wildcats, the Badgers will then travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to face the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
