Saturday, October 1
Bloomington, IN
5 PM
Wisconsin Badgers
at
Indiana
Big Ten road trip ahead for Badgers
September 29, 2016 | Volleyball
Wisconsin travels to No. 14 Purdue and Indiana
MADISON, Wis. -- For the first time this Big Ten season, third-ranked Wisconsin will take to the road. Wisconsin plays at No. 14 Purdue on Friday -- live on BTN -- and at Indiana on Saturday.
After picking up two home wins during the conference's opening weekend, including a victory over then-No. 17 Ohio State, things certainly won't get any easier for UW.
"We're playing a couple of teams that have won an awful lot of matches so far early on," head coach Kelly Sheffield said. "We're excited about hitting the road and playing a couple of really good programs."
Â
Why is it so hard to win in the Big Ten? Currently, nine conference teams are ranked in the top 25 of the national coaches' poll, more than any other league. The Pac-12 ranks second with six ranked teams.
The Badgers have defeated five ranked teams already this season, including road wins at then-No. 6 Hawai'i, at then-No. 16 Texas A&M, and at then-No. 2 Texas.
But those matches are in the past, Sheffield is quick to point out.
"We've moved on really well," he said. "This group is locked in. That's obviously important. If you're going to win consistently over time, you have to be able to get locked in with what's in front of you."
In front of Wisconsin is its seventh ranked team of the season in the Boilermakers. Despite being picked to finish ninth in a preseason vote of Big Ten coaches, Purdue has been a surprise team in the league. The Boilers are 14-2 overall, including wins at No. 9 Stanford and at home over then-No. 4 Kansas, and are 1-1 in the conference.
The Badgers have won five straight matches over Purdue, including the last two in West Lafayette, but Holloway Gym is an unforgiving place for visiting teams.
"It's another tough environment," Sheffield said. "It's small and it's cramped and loud. It's very similar to what we saw in Texas, a smaller gym and fans are right on top of you.
"It's another great environment and another incredible opportunity in front of us against another great opponent."
Wisconsin has won 14 straight Big Ten matches — dating back to October of 2015 — a streak that will be on the line every weekend.
"It's the same with this conference about any sport," Sheffield said. "You feel like you're giving the same answers week by week because you're playing a different jersey that's another ranked opponent.
"It's hard to win in this league."
After picking up two home wins during the conference's opening weekend, including a victory over then-No. 17 Ohio State, things certainly won't get any easier for UW.
"We're playing a couple of teams that have won an awful lot of matches so far early on," head coach Kelly Sheffield said. "We're excited about hitting the road and playing a couple of really good programs."
Â
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| 
Why is it so hard to win in the Big Ten? Currently, nine conference teams are ranked in the top 25 of the national coaches' poll, more than any other league. The Pac-12 ranks second with six ranked teams.
The Badgers have defeated five ranked teams already this season, including road wins at then-No. 6 Hawai'i, at then-No. 16 Texas A&M, and at then-No. 2 Texas.
But those matches are in the past, Sheffield is quick to point out.
"We've moved on really well," he said. "This group is locked in. That's obviously important. If you're going to win consistently over time, you have to be able to get locked in with what's in front of you."
In front of Wisconsin is its seventh ranked team of the season in the Boilermakers. Despite being picked to finish ninth in a preseason vote of Big Ten coaches, Purdue has been a surprise team in the league. The Boilers are 14-2 overall, including wins at No. 9 Stanford and at home over then-No. 4 Kansas, and are 1-1 in the conference.
The Badgers have won five straight matches over Purdue, including the last two in West Lafayette, but Holloway Gym is an unforgiving place for visiting teams.
"It's another tough environment," Sheffield said. "It's small and it's cramped and loud. It's very similar to what we saw in Texas, a smaller gym and fans are right on top of you.
"It's another great environment and another incredible opportunity in front of us against another great opponent."
Wisconsin has won 14 straight Big Ten matches — dating back to October of 2015 — a streak that will be on the line every weekend.
"It's the same with this conference about any sport," Sheffield said. "You feel like you're giving the same answers week by week because you're playing a different jersey that's another ranked opponent.
"It's hard to win in this league."
NCAA National Semifinal Post-Match Press Conference || Kentucky
Thursday, December 18
NCAA National Semifinal Prematch Press Conference || Kentucky
Wednesday, December 17
Cinematic Highlights || Texas
Tuesday, December 16
Post-Match Media Conference || Texas
Sunday, December 14
