Fitzgerald Named Big Ten Player of the Year
November 26, 2001 | Volleyball
The Wisconsin volleyball team earned its second-straight Big Ten Conference title Friday night and on Tuesday, five Badgers were honored for their efforts. The Big Ten Conference named Lizzy Fitzgerald, UW's all-American senior setter, as the league's Player of the Year. Head coach Pete Waite was also honored by the conference Tuesday, selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Big Ten media.
'I think it's fantastic,' Waite said. 'It just says we've got a lot of strong players in the program that have done well.'
Fitzgerald (New Orleans, La.), earning Wisconsin's second-consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year honor and third all-time, finished second in the Big Ten with a 14.04 assist-per-game average, leading UW to a .293 hitting percentage and a Big Ten-best 17.49 kills per game. Last year, senior Sherisa Livingston (Simi Valley, Calif.) took home the conference's top honor and is a unanimous all-Big Ten selection in 2001. Livingston leads the Badgers with a .413 hitting percentage, 5.17 kills per game and 1.17 blocks per game.
Waite earned his second-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year title, as selected by the media, leading the Badgers to a 19-1 mark in the conference. Waite 's three-year record with Bucky includes a 80-17 overall record and 51-9 record in league play.
Other Badgers honored by the Big Ten Conference are: junior Erin Byrd (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), honorable mention; and frosh Jill Odenthal (Geneva, Ill.), who was named to the Big Ten all-Freshman team. Byrd leads UW with 2.93 digs per game.
