'I didn’t want to be in the comfort of what I already knew': Temi Thomas-Ailara embraces challenge of playing volleyball at Wisconsin

MADISON – Temi Thomas-Ailara is starting her fifth season of college volleyball and starting over at the same time.

This will be the first season the All-American outside hitter suits up for the Wisconsin Badgers. She spent her undergrad years at Northwestern, where she ranks fifth all-time in kills and is one of two players in program history to earn first-team all-Big Ten recognition three times.

She is a fresh face for UW who is known all too well around the Big Ten Conference.

“I kind of feel like a freshman again,” she said. “I’m kind of learning the ropes. I had to learn my way around the facility and my way around campus and also find new things.

“But also I have experience. I know what the Big Ten is like. I know what traveling feels like and I have that under my belt and it’s given me some comfort as I’m going through the new, knowing that I do have experience.”

Here are three things to know about the native of Glenwood, Illinois.

Thomas-Ailara is arguably the best player in Northwestern history

Few Northwestern players played at such a high level for so long as Thomas-Ailara.

While there are two Wildcats who earned second-team All-American distinction from the American Volleyball Coaches Association and two players in program history who were three-time first-team all-Big Ten selections, Thomas-Ailara is the only player to accomplish both feats.

She ranks No. 1 all-time with an average of 4.03 kills per set and is fifth all-time with 1,546 kills.

Thomas-Ailara wants to be pushed beyond her comfort zone

Why Wisconsin? A key part of the reason was Thomas-Ailara liked what she saw on her visit.

“I loved the competitive nature of the gym,” she said. “They’re grinding day in and day out, but they’re also embracing that grind. They’re embracing each other through the hard stuff and they’re coming out of it closer.”

And in the big picture, she wanted to get out of her comfort zone and experience the sport from a different perspective as she pursues her graduate degree in applied biotechnology.

“I was taught so much at Northwestern and I was like I’ve absorbed this, I want to learn more,” she said. “I want to have a new experience in volleyball because I want to go overseas and that is going to be a different experience than the one I had at Northwestern. I didn’t want to be in the comfort of what I already knew.”

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She joined the team after the spring semester, arriving just in time to participate in practice for UW's foreign tour. She played three of the five matches before returning to Northwestern for her graduation.

An interesting part of the transition for Thomas-Ailara is getting to know players she once competed against.

“I think the personalities of the team and how they mesh are super cool,” she said. “I tell Julia (Orzol) this all the time, but I was so scared of her when I was playing across the net. When we were in Europe I was her roommate and I said, 'Julia, you’re not as scary as I thought you were.' She’s awesome.”

Thomas-Ailara has a 'big arm' and is 'incredibly athletic'

Thomas-Ailara didn’t hit for a high percentage in five matches against the Badgers, but she posted a .230 hitting percentage for her career. Her .252 percentage last season would have ranked first among the Badgers’ returning outside hitters, an impressive accomplishment considering she didn’t play with an all-conference player who could draw the attention of the defense. In fact, Thomas-Ailara never played with an all-conference player at Northwestern.

Imagine what she’ll be able to do playing in a lineup that returns three other all-Big Ten performers, two All-Americans and a host of others who were regulars in the rotation of a team that reached the Elite Eight.

As the No. 1 focus of opponents last season, Thomas-Ailara posted a hitting percentage of .300 or better in nine of 20 Big Ten matches. Three of those matches were against rank opponents.

“I haven’t had a player like Temi,” UW coach Kelly Sheffield said. “She can get on the ball in a hurry. She’s got a big arm. She’s incredibly athletic and just is a sponge. She wants to learn so bad and she’s excited about being here.”

Thomas-Ailara averaged 17 kills in the three matches she played on the Badgers’ foreign tour. She was fed the ball a lot during those matches and showed she can score in bunches, having sets when she recorded nine kills and six kills.

“She can handle a big load,” Sheffield said. “She’s been doing that for four years. She wants to learn. She’s a great teammate. We’ve known this for a long time. She’s one of the best players in the game.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Three things to know about Wisconsin volleyball's Temi Thomas-Ailara