Entering play Wednesday, there were six Big Ten teams ranked among the top-25. Every match seems to pit Northwestern against a top-flight opponent, and tonight’s contest against No. 20 Wisconsin won’t prove otherwise.
The Wildcats (6-9, 0-4 Big Ten) face a Badger team that is also feeling the effects of a brutal conference schedule. Wisconsin (12-4, 2-2) started Big Ten play 0-2, falling to the same two teams that handed NU its first losses of the season.
“It’s crazy,” said sophomore outside hitter Brittani Gray. “This is the first year in a while the Big Ten has been so competitive.”
Gray said in most years the top three teams are practically predestined to compete for the conference title, and generally, the next eight know about where they will finish.
“This year, though,” Gray said, “everyone is in the mix.”
Wisconsin can attest to that parity. The Badgers were last season’s conference runners-up and they finished the 2006 season in third place. But this year, they lost to upstart Iowa, who were 1-19 last year, and No. 13 Minnesota to open the season.
The Wildcats, also, have been roughed up by the Big Ten. The team dropped both matches last weekend – to Ohio State and Michigan-and is winless thus far in conference play. Junior outside hitter Ariel Baxterbeck said the team paid the price for starting slow in both matches.
“Against Michigan, it took until the third game for us to play with some intensity,” she said. “It was disappointing and frustrating because obviously we didn’t want to start 0-4 in the Big Ten.”
Gray said the team is fed up with the losing and wants to notch its first win tonight.
“We pretty much decided that enough is enough,” she said. “We’re going to give all we can now to turn the tables and not just let other teams beat us.”
In practice, Gray said the team was preparing for a talented and physically imposing Wisconsin team. She said NU had been working on playing low-error volleyball by eliminating little mistakes and attacking wisely.
“We have to swing high and hard because they’re so big but not as controlled,” she said. “At the same time, we have to be on our toes because they jump so high, we have to be ready for anything. “
While NU has struggled to compete with the titans of the Big Ten, Baxterbeck said the high level of play is precisely the reason many players came to NU in the first place. She said the cutthroat schedule is also good preparation for the NCAA Tournament, should the team qualify.
Gray said the atmosphere of such a distinguished conference, including the fans and high-profile players, adds to the excitement, and playing in a lesser league would make success less satisfying.
Armed with a Badger-centric game plan and the knowledge that the road ahead doesn’t get any easier, the Cats will again try for that elusive first victory.
“We’re definitely taking it match by match to try and get a win,” Baxterbeck said. “And, fingers crossed, if we play our game the way we’re capable of, we can get that first one against Wisconsin.”
