INSIDE VOLLEYBALL BY DIANE NORDSTROM @BadgerVBall SCHEDULE (13-2, 1-1)
Last Week Sept. 21 at Northwestern W, 3-1 Sept. 23 at Illinois
L, 2-3
This Week Friday #1 Penn State Saturday #22 Ohio State
Up Next Oct. 5 Oct. 7
7 p.m. 7 p.m.
#23 Michigan State 7 p.m. Michigan
Oct. 12 at #6 Nebraska Oct. 13
at Iowa
Defense wins matches » Most coaches will tell you that de- fense wins games, and that is the case in volleyball. After two Big Ten matches, Wisconsin is averaging a conference-best 18.0 digs per set. Individually, Wisconsin has five
Sophomore setter Courtney Thomas has a team-best seven double-doubles this season.
Schedule heats up for
ences dominate the rankings — the Big Ten and the Pac- 12. The two leagues make up 12 of the top-25 teams in the country. Eight Big Ten teams are
W
ranked or receiving votes in the coaches poll, led by No. 1
50 » VARSITY SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
hen you look at the national volleyball scene, two confer-
volleyball team UW hosts No. 1 Penn State, No. 22 Ohio State
Penn State, the Badgers' op- ponent Friday.
UW has faced a top-ranked team 11 times in program his- tory, including the Lions nine times. UW is 1-11 against No. 1, but that one win came over PSU on Halloween night in 1997. Hopefully the ghosts of the Field House will bring another Badger win.
players that average 2.4 or more digs per set in Big Ten matches. Annemarie Hickey leads all Big Ten players with 5.22 digs per set. Deme Morales adds 2.67 per set, while Crystal Graff chips in 2.56 digs per set. Courtney Thomas and Caroline Workman both average 2.44 saves per set.
Thomas with the double » Courtney Thomas picked up her sixth and seventh double-doubles of the season last weekend. The 6-0 setter had a then-career-high 56 as- sists at Northwestern while adding 12 digs. At Illinois, Thomas upped her career best to 57 assists and chipped in 10 digs. Thomas has a team-best seven double-doubles this season and 23 in her career.
1 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m.
