Venues	Devaney Center | Lincoln, Neb.  Holloway Gymnasium | West Lafayette, Ind.
Match Notes	Wisconsin | Nebraska | Purdue
Statistics	Wisconsin | Nebraska | Purdue | Big Ten
TV	vs. Nebraska | vs. Purdue
Radio	Listen Live on U100.9 FM
Live Stats	vs. Nebraska |  vs. Purdue
Social Media	Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

        
MADISON, Wis. -- Third-ranked Wisconsin (17-1, 9-1 B1G) opens up the second half of Big Ten play with two tough road matches. UW is in the midst of four-straight matches against top-14 ranked opponents.
 
The Badgers travel to Big Ten-leading and sixth-ranked Nebraska (16-3, 10-0) on Wednesday. First serve is at 8 p.m. from the Devaney Center in Lincoln live on the Big Ten Network. UW travels to No. 12 Purdue (14-5, 6-4) on Sunday for an 11 a.m. match from Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Indiana. The match airs live on ESPNU..

1. KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE:  Wisconsin is on a nine-match winning streak, its longest of the season after downing No. 6 Ohio State, 3-1, and No. 14 Penn State, 3-2, at home last weekend. The Badgers trailed the Nittany Lions 2-1 in the match on Saturday before rallying to win the fourth and fifth sets.

2. WELL OF COURSE THEY WON AGAIN:  Fifth-year senior Dana Rettke was named the Big Ten Player of the Week while graduate student Sydney Hilley was named the Big Ten Co-Setter of the Week after leading the Badgers to two top-14 wins last weekend. Rettke averaged 4.44 kills and 1.11 blocks per set while hitting .536. Hilley averaged 12.00 assists and 3.00 digs per set while adding 0.89 blocks per set.
 
3. BLOCKING BADGERS: The Badgers turned up their block last weekend, recording a season-high and school-record 19 blocks vs. the Buckeyes on Friday while adding 13.5 blocks against PSU on Saturday. On the weekend, Wisconsin averaged 3.61 blocks per set behind 2.22 blocks per set by sophomore Devyn Robinson. Robinson had a career-high 10 blocks in both matches. Fifth-year senior Grace Loberg stuffed 10 shots against OSU on Friday, her career best to average 1.57 blocks per set on the weekend.  
 
4. YOU CAN'T BREAK BARNES: Fifth-year senior Lauren Barnes has double-figure digs in the last eight matches, averaging 4.86 digs per set over the stretch. The 5-foot-6 libero had a career-high 29 digs vs. Penn State on Saturday. In Big Ten matches, she ranks fourth in the conference with 4.43 digs per set.
 
5. FABULOUS FRESHMAN:  Freshman Julia Orzoł had an impressive weekend on offense, recording a career-high 19 kills vs. Penn State on Saturday. She also added 13 kills against Ohio State on Friday to average 3.56 kills per set on the weekend while hitting .244. Orzoł added 2.00 digs per set, just missing double-doubles both nights with nine digs in each match. On the season, the 6-foot outside hitter ranks second on the team with 3.48 kills per set.

6. SCOUTING THE TEAMS: No. 6 Nebraska is coming off a big weekend with wins over Iowa and then-No.7 Purdue. The Huskers are 16-3 on the season and undefeated (10-0) in conference play, the only undefeated team in conference play. Their three non-conference losses are to No. 20 Utah, No.16 Stanford and No.5 Louisville. Junior outside hitter Madi Kubik leads the Huskers with 3.38 kills per set, followed by senior middle blocker Lauren Stivrins with 2.58 kills per set. Callie Schwarzenbach, a senior middle blocker, has a team-best 1.29 blocks per set while freshman libero Lexi Rodriquez leads the team with 4.19 digs per set. 

No. 12 Purdue is 14-5 on the season after a four-set loss to No. 6 Nebraska over the weekend. The Boilermakers are 6-4 in conference play with their biggest win against No. 3 Ohio State in late September. Fifth-year senior Caitlyn Newton leads the team with 3.72 kills per set, followed by senior outside hitter Grace Cleveland with 3.22 kills per set. Taylor Trammell, a sophomore middle blocker, leads the Boilermakers with 1.40 blocks per set while fifth-year defensive specialist Jena Otec has a team-best 4.39 digs per set.