MADISON, Wis – The Badgers (4-0, 4-0 B1G) returns home for a weekend series against Rutgers (1-3, 1-3). First serve is at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be streamed live on B1G Network+ or can be heard in the Madison area on U 100.9FM or anywhere using the iHeartRadio app with Jon Arias and Pete Waite on the call.

Here are six things we're serving up to you as the Badgers open the season.

1. AWARDS CONTINUE COMING IN: Senior Lauren Barnes was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after keying the Badgers to two wins at Illinois last weekend. The 5-foot-8 libero tallied a career-high 20 digs on Saturday night to average 4.43 digs per set on the weekend. She added 11 digs on Friday night and was also aced only twice in 47 service receptions, for a reception percentage of .957.

2. LEADING THE BIG TEN: The Badgers lead the Big Ten and rank second nationally with a hitting percentage of .367. Wisconsin has hit better than 33% in all four matches this season and have three players that rank among the top 10 in individual hitting percentage—Danielle Hart ranks first at .512; Dana Rettke ranks second at .473; and Devyn Robinson ranks sixth at .413.

3. LEADING THE BIG TEN II: Wisconsin also leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th nationally with 14.77 kills per set, and leads the Big Ten and ranks 25th nationally with 12.92 assists per set. Senior Sydney Hilley leads the conference and ranks 11th nationally with 11.54 assists per set.

4. KRAFT AND DEMPS EARN START: Transfer Deahna Kraft and freshman Jade Demps earned their first career starts on Friday at Illinois. Kraft put away a career-high 11 kills while adding seven digs and one block. Demps  had six kills on Friday while adding one dig and one block solo. On the season, Kraft has played in seven sets and is averaging 2.0 kills and 1.43 digs per set while adding two assists, one service ace and one block. Demps is averaging 1.83 kills per set while adding one dig and one block on the year. 

5. POWER ATTACK: The Badgers have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation with seven players averaging 1.7 or more kills per set. Senior Dana Rettke leads the team and ranks third in the Big Ten with 3.77 kills per set. Outside hitters Molly Haggerty and Grace Loberg both add 2.80 kills per set while right-side hitter puts away 2.38 kills per set. Other attackers include Deahna Kraft (2.00/set), Jade Demps (1.83) and Danielle Hart (1.77).

6. SCOUTING RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights are under the direction of first-year head coach Caitlin Schweihofer who took over the program after serving as head coach at Northeastern and a five-year stint at LaSalle, where she earned 2018 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors. The 2019 Scarlet Knights collected the most wins in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2014 and earned its first Big Ten road sweep. The 2021 spring season so far has included the squad's first-ever Big Ten home opener win and first-ever victory over Indiana in addition to establishing its best hitting percentage in a Big Ten matchup.

Senior Beka Kojadinovic leads the Scarlet Knight attack at 2.86 k/s followed by classmate Kamila Cieslik at 2.36 k/s and junior Anastasiia Maksimova at 2.29 k/s. Junior Inna Balyko, this week's Big Ten Setter of the Week, has totaled 111 assists on the year, averages 7.93 per set and also leads RU with seven aces. She ranks eighth in the league in both categories. At the net, freshman Tina Grkovic is averaged 1.14 b/s followed by redshirt junior Shea McNamara with 0.86 b/s. Grkovic is tenth in the conference in blocks. Freshman libero Madyson Chitty is contributing 2.64 d/s for the defense