MADISON, Wis. -- Fifth-ranked Wisconsin (15-3, 9-1 B1G) opens the second half of Big Ten play with two top-10 opponents in the UW Field House. The Badgers host newly crowned No. 1 Nebraska (18-1, 10-0) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network. On Saturday, Wisconsin looks to avenge an early-season loss to No. 9 Minnesota (12-6, 7-3). First serve of the Border Battle is at 5:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.Â
1. EIGHT WINS IN A ROW: Wisconsin extended its winning streak to eight matches with two wins last weekend. The Badgers swept Michigan State at home on Friday before completing a season sweep of Michigan with a 3-1 win in Ann Arbor on Sunday. UW has also won nine straight home Big Ten matches.
2. GREAT GG! Freshman
Gulce Guctekin had an impressive defensive weekend, recording a match-high 22 digs vs. Michigan on Sunday, her third 20-plus dig match this season and only one save off her career high. The 5-foot-5 libero also added 11 digs vs. Michigan State to average 4.71 digs per set over two matches. She also added 1.43 assists and 0.43 service aces per set.
3. OFFENSE IMPROVES: In all matches, the Badgers lead the conference and rank 19th nationally with a .270 hitting percentage. Over the last two matches, UW has hit .300 or better, connecting on .350 percent of its attacks. In Big Ten matches, grad
Danielle Hart leads the conference with a .431 hitting percentage. Junior
Devyn Robinson ranks fourth at .388. In all matches, Hart ranks second at .416 while Robinson sits sixth at .353. Â
      Wisconsin has also turned up its kills per set, leading the Big Ten in conference-only matches with 14.29 kills per set. Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Franklin leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 3.68 kills per set. Sophomore Julia Orzoł adds 3.23 kills per set. Junior
Devyn Robinson chips in 2.77 kills per set while
Danielle Hart contributes 1.83 kills per set.
4. BADGER BLOCK: Wisconsin continues to be one of the nation's best blocking teams, ranking second with 3.15 blocks per set. The Badgers have double-figure blocks the last seven matches in a row, averaging 3.48 blocks per set over the stretch.
Graduate student
Danielle Hart ranks second nationally and second in the Big Ten with 1.59 blocks per set. Junior
Caroline Crawford adds 1.47 blocks per set, which ranks 12th nationally and fifth in the conference. Wisconsin and Maryland are the only two Big Ten schools that have two middle blockers that rank in the top-five in the conference in blocks per set. In addition to Hart and Crawford, the Badgers have two other athletes that average 1.0-or-more blocks per set. Junior
Devyn Robinson contributes 1.10 blocks per set while sophomore
Anna Smrek adds 1.04 blocks per set.
5. STOPPING OPPONENTS: The Badgers rank seventh in the nation and second in the Big Ten, allowing opponents to hit just .151. Five opponents have hit less than .100 this season. Wisconsin held TCU (.028), High Point (-.074), Campbell (.048), Rhode Island (.066) and Michigan State (.093) to low team hitting percentages. Thirteen foes have hit less than .200 this year, including eight of 10 Big Ten opponents. Seven of the last eight foes have hit .184 or less, averaging .153 over the stretch. Only Minnesota (.356) and Michigan (.236) have hit better than .200 in conference play. Conference foes hit .169 this season, which ranks third in the Big Ten.
6. WISCONSIN IN THE POLLS: Wisconsin remains fifth in the
AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll released Monday. The Big Ten leads the poll with six teams in the top 25. Wisconsin has been ranked in the AVCA national poll for 145 consecutive polls, including the last 48 straight polls in the top 10. UW also remains seventh in the
NCAA RPI. The Badgers are the third Big Ten team in the RPI, which features six conference teams in the top 25.
