Volleyball Hosts First Rounds of NCAA Tournament
December 01, 2005 | Volleyball
The 11th-seeded Wisconsin volleyball team begins its 14th overall and 10th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance by hosting the first and second rounds this weekend at the UW Field House. The first round starts Friday with Valparaiso (27-7) against California (18-10) at 5 p.m. and Wisconsin (23-6) against Loyola, Ill. (13-17) at 7 p.m. The winners from both matches will meet in the second round Saturday at the UW Field House with the first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. The winner advances to NCAA regional play in College Station, Texas.
The 14th-ranked Badgers (23-6) finished second in the Big Ten Conference with a 15-5 record. Led by All-Big Ten middle blockers Sheila Shaw and Taylor Reineke, the Badgers had their best conference finish since 2002, when they also finished second.
Reineke earned her first all-conference honor with a league-leading 1.67 blocks per game. The 6-3 Naperville, Ill., native leads the Badgers with a .328 hitting percentage, putting down 2.39 kills per game.
Shaw earned her second consecutive all-conference honor, finishing second in the Big Ten with 1.51 blocks per game. The Muskego, Wis. native leads the Badgers with 0.32 service aces per game and is second with a .312 hitting percentage.
Opposite hitter Audra Jeffers became the seventh consecutive Badger to be named to the conference's All-Freshman team. The Hartland, Wis., native is the team leader in kills with 3.44 per game.
'We take pride when players get any individual honors, ' said head coach Pete Waite. 'I think all of those (all-conference) players rely on everybody else on the team to help them get those (awards).'
Loyola returns to Madison for a rematch of last season's first round meeting, which Wisconsin won 3-0. Despite a sub .500 record, the Ramblers won the Horizon League Tournament title after beating regular-season champion UW-Milwaukee, 3-1. Senior Hilary Stromath leads the team with 3.03 kills per game.
'Loyola got in (the NCAA tournament) by playing hot at the end of the season,' said Waite. 'They didn't come in as the top seed in their conference tournament but came out the champion. That says a lot for how they 're playing right now.'
Valparaiso won the 2005 Mid-Continent Conference championship with a 13-1 mark. The Crusaders have the most wins in the sub-regional and are led by five attackers averaging more than 2.5 kills per game. Right-side hitter Lauren Moulton 's 3.02 kills per game and .287 hitting percentage is the highest on the team. Wisconsin is 3-0 all time against Valparaiso with the most recent being a 3-0 win at the InnTowner Invitational earlier this season
'Valparaiso has been solid year after year and they 've been at the top of their conference and giving fits to teams in bigger conferences,' said Waite. 'We saw that happen when they took UCLA to five games last fall here in our tournament.'
The unseeded but 16th-ranked California Golden Bears (18-10) are making a school-record fourth consecutive tournament appearance. Cal tied for fifth in the Pac-10 Conference standings at 10-8. Sophomore outside hitter Angie Pressey earned All-Pac Ten honors with 4.12 kills per game.
'Cal has been a solid team, the last four year years they have made the NCAA tournament and that's a record for them,' said Waite. 'They play in the Pac-10 which is very strong and prepares you for just about anything in post-season play.'
After advancing the NCAA regional final in 2004, the Badgers are experienced in post-season play. A 3-2 win against second-ranked Hawai'i in Green Bay capped Wisconsin's Elite Eight run. With past tournament success, the Badgers confidently enter this season's competition.
'We feel good heading into the NCAAs right now,' said Waite. 'Last year, we were kind of an unknown team with so many freshmen on the court but they matured a lot in that post-season play. They grew a lot in the off season and this year they've proven themselves in Big Ten play. I think they 're really focused and they're really excited to get started. '
