Wisconsin volleyball maintains No. 1 ranking; Carter Booth named Big Ten player of week
MADISON – The streak continues for Wisconsin and the Big Ten.
The Badgers volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for the sixth straight week. UW is followed by Nebraska in the poll, giving the Big Ten the top two teams for the third consecutive week.
Wisconsin received 60 first-place votes, two more than last week, and raised its point total by three to 1,595. The Badgers went 2-0 in the last week, scoring sweeps of Ohio State Wednesday and Michigan Sunday.
The conference leads the nation with six teams among the top 25. No. 14 Penn State climbed one spot, No. 16 Minnesota dropped three places, No. 19 Purdue dropped two spots and Ohio State fell two spots to No. 24.
Middle blocker Carter Booth honored by Big Ten
Wisconsin also received good news from the Big Ten office.
Sophomore Carter Booth claimed the team's first player of the week honor of the season. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker earned defensive player of the week distinction after averaging 2.17 blocks and 2.42 points per set in the team’s two matches.
She finished with eight blocks, one off her season-high, against Ohio State and leads the team with an average of 1.53 per set. In conference play she ranks first with an average of two blocks per set.
UW hits the road to Iowa, Illinois
The Badgers continue conference play Wednesday at Iowa and close out the week at Illinois. Neither team is off to a fast start – Iowa is 0-4 in the Big Ten and Illinois is 2-2 – but both are the type of match that sometimes tests the focus of a top team.
UW coach Kelly Sheffield puts the onus for being ready to play on the players.
"Elite athletes and elite teams find what they need to motivate themselves," he said. "That's part of the maturation process, some of the things we talk about with players when they come in. It's your responsbility to learn yourself of what gets you to go."
The last time UW lost to Iowa was in 2018. The Badgers were off to a 4-1 start in the Big Ten before suffering a five-set loss. That season also marked the last time Wisconsin lost to Illinois, which won both meetings that season.
“Most of these guys have been a part of when they’re not where they need to be playing, ready to go what an opponent can do to you,” Sheffield said. “You kind of lean on your captains and leaders, older players, to make sure the younger ones and everybody else is ready to go no matter who you’re playing.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin volleyball No. 1; Carter Booth named Big Ten player of week
