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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — It was nearly 2 1/2 hours before the Wisconsin volleyball team played its final home match and already its importance seemed clear.
Fans were clustered in the small, ancient entryways of the Field House even though they wouldn't be admitted for a good 90 minutes.
By the time the B and C gates opened there were lines of humanity – some in shorts, some in short sleeves, but most in wintry apparel – stretched out the doors and into the darkness of an unseasonably warm Friday night in December.
They left as they came: Happy, with a heightened sense of anticipation.
A crowd of 5,578 showed up to watch the sixth-seeded Badgers sweep Iowa State 25-18, 25-15 and 25-21 to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.
One night after opening the 64-team tournament with a difficult four-set triumph over dangerous Oregon, Wisconsin (26-6 overall) played a patient, resilient defensive game to earn a date with 11th-seeded Florida (24-6) next Friday in the regional semifinals in Austin, Texas.
The atmosphere at the Field House was critical to both wins by the Badgers, but the support wasn't out of the ordinary. After drawing 4,563 for the Oregon match, they played the Cyclones before 5,578.
Wisconsin finished the regular season drawing an average of 5,042, which ranks third nationally and second in program history.
"Honestly, our crowd is amazing," senior libero Taylor Morey said. "The last two nights it has been roaring in there."
Morey, the lone senior, said she and her teammates amped up their energy for the postseason and "and our crowd came with us."
"It's awesome to be on a team that when we step on the court our crowd is 100 percent behind us."
It's not just any crowd, either. Standing ovations greet the players when they arrive for the start of the match. They continue in advance of each set point. When the Badgers seem to hit a rough patch – and there were a few against Iowa State – the crowd offered full-throated pick-me-ups.
"They're very educated and they know how to get us going," Morey said. "That's an advantage of playing on your home court, so we love 'em and I'm very thankful to play in front of such awesome fans."
The energy was needed to overcome the Cyclones (19-11) and their detailed approach to defense.
"They're a tough defensive team," junior setter Lauren Carlini said. "It's hard to get balls down there."
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield noted his club made seven attack errors, which is pretty low given the opponent "prides itself on suffocating backcourt defense."
During the postgame interview session someone asked the assembled Wisconsin players – Morey, Carlini and freshman middle blocker Tionna Williams – about playing a "relatively simple" match against Iowa State compared to the Oregon duel that was longer and more involved.
"It did not feel simple," Carlini said. "It may have looked easy, but it didn't feel easy. It felt like a battle all the way through."
The Badgers won their 14th-consecutive match dating back to Oct. 23 in part because they complemented their lack of attack errors with a .337 hitting percentage.
Morey set the tone for a strong defensive showing by turning in 17 digs in her final appearance at home.
Iowa State coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, a former Wisconsin assistant, said her players got a comprehensive lesson in defensive intensity from the Badgers.
"They're one of the best defensive teams I've seen in my time," she said. "They're just exceptional defensively and that's what makes them special along with their setter (Carlini)."
Every team strives for consistent excellence and it would appear Wisconsin has that going with three straight Sweet 16 appearances under Sheffield.
"All three teams when we've gotten to postseason have been playing their best volleyball of the season," he said. "They've all taken their own separate paths to get to this point, but I think we've got a team that believes in themselves, (is) approaching practices the right way."
That doesn't come overnight. It's a process.
"We earn our right to play every day and that's what we focus on in our gym," Morey said. "You don't come into the gym and slack off. It's an opportunity every day and we've done a really good job this year of keying in on opportunities in the gym and getting better.
"That's why we're making the Sweet 16. We're getting 1 percent better every day."
Williams, who had a team-best nine kills, said gratitude is part of the deal.
"Just being able to play for this school in this type of an environment is a blessing, so every time we step out on the court we have to make the most of it," she said.
Carlini said the NCAA tournament is when the lessons and sacrifices bear fruit.
"We don't hold back," she said. "We give everything we've got. We step our game up to another level.
"We just hold each other accountable. We don't let anyone slack off. We don't let anyone take the easy road. We battle through it. That's just the type of team and program we are."
Sheffield said Oregon and Iowa State are outfits of such quality that "you could easily play both those teams on the second weekend."
"These were both really good wins for us," he said.
The kind of victories that have you thinking about the possibilities.
"We have people – you can see it – they love playing," Sheffield said. "They're locked in. Who knows how far this thing will go, but I think it's going to take an effort, somebody playing pretty well, to beat us. That's where you want to be."
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