Volleyball Ends Season Ranked 10th
December 22, 2005 | Volleyball
The University of Wisconsin volleyball team ended its season ranked 10th with a 26-7 record in the final USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches poll released today. It is the 10th straight year that the Badgers have ended their season ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation.
'Finishing in the Elite Eight for the last two years says a lot about the level our team is playing,' says UW Coach Pete Waite. 'Being ranked 10th in the final coaches poll tells us that we've earned the respect of the nation's coaches and we're being mentioned among some great programs.
'To look back and know that we beat teams like Minnesota, UCLA, California and Notre Dame means that we're doing some good things on the court. We were one match away from the final four and not many programs can say that. I'm proud of the effort our players gave us and once again our fans came out in big numbers with some great energy for the team.'
The Badgers started the season ranked 10th in the preseason coaches poll and was ranked as high as seventh in mid-October and as low as 15th in mid-November.
For the second consecutive season, Wisconsin ended the season competing in the Elite Eight level of the NCAA tournament. The Badgers swept Loyola, Ill. and California in the first and second rounds at home. The UW traveled to College Station, Texas, for NCAA regional play, upsetting Notre Dame before losing to eventual national champion Washington.
The Badgers lose two senior starters to graduation. Wisconsin must replace 2005 AVCA Third-Team All-American middle blocker Sheila Shaw and starting outside hitter Aubrey Meierotto.
