INSIDE
VOLLEYBALL
BY DIANE NORDSTROM
@BADGERVBALL
SCHEDULE
(ALL TIMES CT)
Aug. 30 at Pepperdine Classic
vs. Iona
7 p.m.
Aug. 31 at Pepperdine Classic
vs. Delaware
2:30 p.m.
vs. Pepperdine 9:30 p.m.
Sept. 6
Sept. 7
Courtney Thomas sets up
Ellen Chapman for a kill at the
Cardinal vs. White scrimmage.
Badgers open season on
the road in California
Wisconsin faces tough opening stretch
or first-year head coach
Kelly
Sheffield,
this
weekend's season opening tournament at Pepperdine
may leave more questions than
answers. With five members
of his squad out with injuries,
Sheffield has had to switch up
his lineup in practice.
"We've got people that
bounce around from position
to position," said Sheffield of
F
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VARSITY August 29, 2013
his players. "But the thing that
I'm really, really happy with
these guys ... is how do we
handle adversity? Do you run
away from that challenge or do
you embrace it and accept it? I
think we've done a really good
job of embracing it."
The Badgers kick off the season in a big way, facing Iona,
Delaware and Pepperdine in
the round-robin tournament.
at NDSU Classic
vs. Northern Iowa 4:30 p.m.
at NDSU Classic
vs. NDSU
12:30 p.m.
vs. Louisville
4:30 p.m.
The toughest competition will be the
host Waves, who were a 20-win NCAA
team last season. Pepperdine is one of
six 2013 non-conference opponents who
are ranked or receive votes in the preseason coaches' poll.
"You're always excited for the start,"
said Sheffield. "Every year you're optimistic, you're fired up, you think about
the possibilities."
INJURIES HIT TEAM
● The injury bug has hit the Badgers,
with the biggest loss being that of Julie Mikaelsen. The senior tri-captain
suffered a broken foot during practice
last Friday and has decided to take a
medical redshirt for the 2013 season.
Mikaelsen, a 6-3 right-side hitter
from Askim, Norway, played in all 33
matches as a junior, starting 22. She
ranked third on the team with 2.63
kills per set, tying a career high with
19 kills against Illinois. She also set career bests for digs (15) and blocks (8)
last season.
Four other Badgers have also
missed training time this fall as Tori
Blake (head), Lauren Carlini (leg)
Crystal Graff (ankle) and Victoria Ito
(ankle) have missed practice time.
