Wisconsin’s Booth a top blocker
Sophomore key piece in Badgers’ Final Four run
MADISON – Boooooth!
The Badgers faithful don’t just cheer for Carter Booth after she makes a block, they serenade her. The chorus that rains down on the floor at the UW Field House could be mistaken for “boos” for those who don’t know better.
But there is no reason for that with the 6-foot-7 sophomore middle blocker. Thanks to her production and the passion she plays with, Booth has quickly become a fan favorite for the Wisconsin volleyball team.
She doesn’t just stuff opponents, she rejects and then she celebrates as if a major battle has been won.
“I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to block people at the level we’re playing,” she said. “Everyone we play against is such elite attackers. Not a lot of people are hitting into blocks anymore. That comes with the caliber of skill we see in our sport today, so when you get a block and it’s something that is difficult to do, it is the best feeling ever because we work so hard and most of the times it’s fruitless.”
That said, Booth is rewarded for her work more than most. Booth ranks third in the nation with 1.60 blocks per set, a key reason Wisconsin is one of the nation’s best defensive teams. The Badgers lead the country with 3.09 blocks per set and are fourth with an opponent hitting percentage of .146.
The former Minnesota Gopher has been a perfect fit for a team that saw one of the nation’s top blockers, Danielle Hart, complete her eligibility after last season.
Getting to this week’s Final Four would have been much harder without Booth’s smooth transition.
“This program just fits for me,” she said. “My personality meshed with everyone on this team. I’ve worked really hard to make sure the transition was seamless. It didn’t just fall in my lap. It’s something that I’ve worked for.”
That improvement has come as a result of a better mental approach to the game, Booth said. She feels she is reading the action better. It has helped her be a two-way threat for UW, which is 30-3 and plays defending national champion Texas (26-4) in a national semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. In addition to leading the team in blocks, Booth ranks third in the nation with a .444 hitting percentage and is averaging 1.8 kills per set. Her kill average is down from her freshman season at Minnesota (2.02) when she got more swings, but her hitting percentage (.444 vs. .360) and blocks (1.60 vs, 1.48) are up.
“I think my mindset last year was either I get a stuff or I get nothing,” she said. “It’s either go big or go home and that was my mindset, and this year I’ve really honed in on finding the gray area where I can still make differences without necessarily earning us a point directly.” That approach is necessary for a middle blocker. When Booth noted that getting blocks is difficult, she wasn’t kidding. The numbers can be daunting.
Take UW’s victory over Oregon on Saturday. The Ducks took 174 swings. The Badgers finished with 32 individual blocks or on about 18% of the attempts. Booth finished with a team-high nine blocks, one off her season high, or 5% of Oregon’s total attempts. Those percentages are actually lower because many of the individual blocks are block assists, with two players getting credit for blocking the same shot.
The against-the-odds nature of the work feeds Booth’s competitive spirit.
“I really make it me against them on the other side of the net,” she said. “I’m going out there and trying to beat that person, so whenever I get a block in my head I’m like, ‘Point me.’ It’s just fun.”
The postseason has brought out the best in Booth. So far her averages for blocks (1.93 per set) and kills (2.00) and her hitting percentage (.472) are better in the NCAA Tournament than for the regular season.
“I feel like I’m a completely different player from where I started last year. Even where I ended last year,” she said. “I’m very different and I think that just this journey I’ve continued to get better and find places where I can elevate my craft and just perfect what I’m doing.
“I think that speaks to the nature of our program as a whole. That is what we all do every single day, day in and day out. I just think the same way everyone else does in this program.”