INSIDE
VOLLEYBALL
BY DIANE NORDSTROM
@BADGERVBALL
SCHEDULE (6-0)
LAST WEEK
Sept. 6-7 at NDSU Classic
vs. Northern Iowa
vs. NDSU
vs. #17 Louisville
W, 3-2
W, 3-1
W, 3-0
THIS WEEK
Friday
InnTowner Invitational
vs. Kansas
7 p.m.
Saturday InnTowner Invitational
vs. Milwaukee
11 a.m.
vs. Bowling Green 7 p.m.
Courtney Thomas
was named the MVP
of the NDSU Classic
Badgers open home
season with new outlook
Wisconsin hosts 22nd InnTowner Invitational
pening the season
with a 6-0 mark and a
No. 25 ranking in the
AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll has
changed the outlook of the
Badgers volleyball team.
"I think they're starting to believe," said first-year head coach
Kelly Sheffield. "I think they're
getting more and more excited
because they see that things are
... that their teammates next to
O
50
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VARSITY September 12, 2013
them are willing to grind when
their backs are against the wall,
and I think that makes it even
more exciting."
The excitement takes another step up as UW opens its
home season by hosting the
22nd-annual InnTowner Invitational this Friday and Saturday in the UW Field House.
"I want the Field House
rocking," Sheffield said.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS AGAIN
● Wisconsin remained undefeated on
the season after winning the NDSU
Classic in Fargo, N.D., last weekend.
The Badgers downed Northern Iowa
3-2, North Dakota State 3-1 and No.
17 Louisville 3-0 to win their secondstraight tournament.
UW's win over No. 17 Louisville was
its first sweep of a top-25 team since
downing No. 18 Michigan State 3-0 on
Oct. 9, 2009.
Against Northern Iowa, the Badgers
won a five-set match after losing the
first two sets for the first time in five
years. The last time Wisconsin came
back from two sets down was vs. No.
22 Michigan on Oct. 3, 2008.
TOP-25 TEAM
● For the first time since 2008, Wisconsin is ranked in the AVCA Top 25
Coaches poll. The Badgers received
142 points to enter the poll at No. 25
in the rankings released Sept. 9.
The last time Wisconsin was ranked
among the top 25 teams in the country
was Oct. 27, 2008, when the team was
25th. The Badgers entered the 2008
season ranked 13th but dropped out
of the poll by the end of the year.