This week in Badger Volleyball: Nov. 13-19

BADGERS WRAP UP BIG TEN ROAD PLAY
No. 13 Wisconsin (17-8, 8-8 B1G) wraps up the road portion of the Big Ten season with two matches this weekend. The Badgers travel to Illinois (18-9, 9-7) on Friday for a 6 p.m. match from Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois. Wisconsin takes on Northwestern (14-14, 4-12) for the second time this season on Sunday. The two teams will play at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois, at 1 p.m.

Match 26 \| at Illinois
Date	Friday, Nov. 17 \| 6 p.m.
Location	Huff Hall \| Champaign, Ill.
Mobile App	Badger Gameday
Video	BTN Plus
Live Stats	UWBadgers.com
Radio	100.9 FM or iHeartRadio app
Social Media	@BadgerVB \| Facebook \| Instagram
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Illinois

Match 27 \| at Northwestern
Date	Sunday, Nov. 19 \| 1 p.m.
Location	Evanston Township HS \| Evanston, Ill.
Mobile App	Badger Gameday
Video	BTN Plus
Live Stats	UWBadgers.com
Radio	100.9 FM or iHeartRadio app
Social Media	@BadgerVB \| Facebook \| Instagram
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Northwestern

AT THE NET

For the fourth straight week, the Badgers split in Big Ten action last weekend. UW swept Indiana before getting swept for the first time this season, falling at No. 21 Purdue on Saturday.
Senior Lauryn Gillis earned her 1,000th career kill at Indiana last Friday. With her third kill of the match, the 6-1 outside hitter became the second Badger this season to earn 1,000 kills, following Kelli Bates who earned the milestone against Ohio State on Nov. 3.Freshman Dana Rettke
was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the eighth this on Monday. The 6-8 middle blocker averaged 4.17 kills per set while hitting .465 on the weekend. Rettke had a match-high seven blocks at Indiana, including two block solos, to average 1.67 blocks per set. She also added three service aces in two matches.
Freshman Sydney Hilley become more offensively minded at Indiana, recording a career-high six kills. The 6-0 setter was 6K - 0E - 7TA against the Hoosiers for a .857 hitting percentage. She also picked up her 1,000th assist at Purdue on Saturday.
Redshirt sophomore Madison Duello had an impressive hitting weekend, connecting on .619 percent of her attacks. The 6-4 right-side hitter was 14K - 1E - 21TA on the weekend, putting away seven kills in each match to average 2.33 kills per set.
The Badgers hit .447 (48K - 10E - 85TA) at Indiana last Friday, their seventh time this season over .400. Wisconsin ranks third in the Big Ten with a .299 hitting percentage on the season.
The Badgers have five players that average 2.0 or more kills per set on the season. Freshman Dana Rettke leads the team with 3.38 kills per set. Senior Lauryn Gillis adds 2.67 kills per set while senior Kelli Bates chips in 2.60 kills per set. Junior Tionna Williams contributes in 2.52 kills per set. Sophomore Madison Duello adds 2.01 kills per set.

BIG TEN SPLIT
For the fourth straight week, the Badgers split in Big Ten action. UW swept Indiana before getting swept for the first time this season, falling at No. 21 Purdue on Saturday. Wisconsin was swept twice in 2016—at No. 1 Nebraska on Oct. 21 and vs. No. 3 Minnesota on Oct. 12.

GILLIS PICKS UP 1,000 KILLS
Senior Lauryn Gillis earned her 1,000th career kill at Indiana last Friday. With her third kill of the match, the 6-1 outside hitter became the second Badger this season to earn 1,000 kills, following Kelli Bates, who earned the milestone against Ohio State on Nov. 3. Gillis, who has played all six rotations in six of the last eight matches, ranks second on the team with 2.67 kills per set. She adds 1.51 digs and 0.32 blocks per set, including three block solos.

BADGERS FALL TO 12th
Wisconsin fell two places to 12th in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll released Nov. 13. The Badgers have been ranked in the national poll for 56 consecutive weeks.

Penn State (25-1) remains first while Texas (21-2) moves up one place to second. Florida (22-1) moves up to fourth while Stanford (22-3) fell to fourth. Nebraska (22-4) completes the top five.

The Big Ten has six teams in the top 25. In addition to Penn State and Nebraska, Minnesota (24-3) fell to seventh while Michigan State (19-6) remains eighth. Wisconsin (17-8) is next at 12th while Purdue (20-7) moved up six places to 15th. Illinois receives votes in this week's poll. AVCA Poll

WISCONSIN FALLS TO 13TH IN RPI
The Badgers fell three places to 13th in the NCAA RPI, released Monday. The rating percentage index is used to rank teams based upon wins and losses, and strength of schedule. This system is used to aid in the selecting and seeding of teams appearing in the NCAA tournament.

Penn State (25-1) leads the rating followed by Florida (22-1), Kentucky (22-3), Minnesota (24-3), and Texas (21-2), respectively. The Big Ten has three teams in the top 10 and seven teams in the top 30 while the Pac-12 Conference has eight teams in the top 30. NCAA RPI

SECOND TOUGHEST SCHEDULE
Wisconsin has played the second toughest scheduled in the nation this season, according to the NCAA strength of schedule released Nov. 13. The Badgers have the toughest schedule in the Big Ten ahead of No. 6 Ohio State. Texas A&M has played the toughest schedule this season followed by Wisconsin, Washington, Kentucky and Washington State, respectively.

GREAT DANA
Since the Big Ten began the Freshman of the Week award for volleyball in 2009, 15 players have won the award three-or-more times. Until this season, the most awards received in a year was six, set by Minnesota's Samantha Seliger-Swenson in 2015. On Monday, Dana Rettke won the award for the eighth time this year.

The 6-8 middle blocker recorded a match-high 14 kills at Indiana last Friday and a team-high 11 kills at Purdue on Saturday. Rettke averaged 4.17 kills per set while hitting .465 (25K-5E–43TA) on the weekend. Rettke had a match-high seven blocks vs. the Hoosiers, including two block solos, and three blocks against the Boilermakers to average 1.67 blocks per set for the two matches. She added three service aces in two matches, averaging 0.50 aces per set.

On the season, Rettke leads the Badgers and ranks second in the Big Ten with a .437 hitting percentage. She also leads the team and ranks 12th in the conference with 3.38 kills per set. The freshman has a team-best 1.39 blocks per set, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten.

OFFENSIVE-MINDED SYD
Freshman Sydney Hilley become more offensively minded at Indiana, recording a career-high six kills. The 6-0 setter was 6K - 0E - 7TA against the Hoosiers for a .857 hitting percentage. She also picked up her 1,000th career assist at Purdue on Saturday.

Hilley ranks second in the Big Ten with 11.57 assists per set and adds 2.15 digs per set, which ranks fourth on the team. She also ties for second on the Badgers with 16 service aces (0.18/set) and adds 0.64 kills per set.

DUELLO ON THE RIGHT
Redshirt sophomore Madison Duello had an impressive hitting weekend, connecting on .619 percent of her attacks. The 6-4 right-side hitter was 14K - 1E - 21TA on the weekend, putting away seven kills in each match to average 2.33 kills per set.

Over her last three matches, Duello is hitting .571 (25K - 1E - 42TA), averaging 2.5 kills per set.

HITTING CONNECTION
The Badgers hit .447 (48K - 10E - 85TA) at Indiana last Friday, their seventh time this season over .400. Wisconsin ranks third in the Big Ten with a .299 hitting percentage on the season. Wisconsin has hit better than 20 of 25 opponents this season, connecting on .299 percent of its attacks on the year, which ranks third in the Big Ten. That mark would set a UW season record for highest hitting percentage by a Badger team. The previous best is .289 set by the 2001 team.

The Badgers have hit better than .400 in seven matches and better than .300 in 13 matches. Wisconsin is 13-0 when it hits better than .300. UW hit a season best .461 (40-5-76) vs. Southern Miss on Sept. 16 and a season-low .189 (59-26-175) at Minnesota on Oct. 21.

Individually freshman Dana Rettke leads the team at .437 percent, which ranks second in the Big Ten. Junior Tionna Williams ranks fourth in the conference at .432. Those two marks would rank first and second, respectively, on UW's season record list.

BALANCED OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
The Badgers have five players that average 2.0 or more kills per set on the season. Freshman Dana Rettke leads the team with 3.38 kills per set. Senior Lauryn Gillis adds 2.67 kills per set while senior Kelli Bates chips in 2.60 kills per set. Junior Tionna Williams contributes in 2.52 kills per set. Sophomore Madison Duello adds 2.01 kills per set.

In the back row, Wisconsin has four players that averaged 2.0 or more digs per set. Sophomore Tiffany Clark has a team-best 3.86 digs per set while M.E. Dodge and Bates both contribute 2.54 digs per set. Freshman Sydney Hilley chips in 2.15 digs per set.

Wisconsin also has four players that average 0.60 or more blocks per set. Rettke (1.39), Williams (1.11), Madison Duello (0.93) and Hilley (0.66) lead the team.

BEST FRESHMEN EVER?
Freshmen Dana Rettke and Sydney Hilley are over halfway through their first season in the Cardinal and White but are on track to go down as two of the best Badger rookies ever.

Rettke's hitting percentage of .437 would shatter the freshman season mark of .361 set by Sherisa Livingston in 1998. The freshman's mark would also break UW's all-time season record of .422 set by Haleigh Nelson in 2015. Rettke is averaging 1.39 blocks per set, which would crack Tionna William's mark of 1.31 blocks per set in 2015. Rettke is also averaging 3.38 kills per set, which would tie for third on the UW freshman season record list.

Hilley puts up 11.57 assists per set, which ranks second among Badger first-year players. Jackie Simpson set the all-time mark with 13.01 assists per set in 2004. Lauren Carlini averaged 11.15 assists per set in 2013.

BADGER BLOCK
Purdue outblocked Wisconsin 6-4 on Saturday, only the seventh opponent to outblock the Badgers this season. Wisconsin has outblocked 18 of 25 opponents this season while tying one foe.

The Badgers have 237 blocks this season while giving up 167 stops. UW is averaging 2.66 blocks per set while opponents are averaging 1.88 blocks per set. UW ranks third in the Big Ten in blocks per set and has two players in the top 15—Dana Rettke (fourth with 1.37 blocks per set) and Tionna Williams (6th with 1.18). UW has 10-or-more blocks in 14 of the last 20 matches.

HOLDING DOWN OPPONENTS
The Badgers have held nine opponents to their lowest or second-lowest hitting percentages of the season. Wisconsin held Northwestern to a season-low .020 (24-22-100) on Oct. 28. The Badgers also held Maryland (.069), Iowa (.091), Southern Miss (-.043) and Syracuse (.033) to season lows.

The Badgers ties for second in the Big Ten for opponent hitting percentage in all matches (.170) while ranking third in Big Ten-only matches (.194).

Only two opponents have hit better than .300 this season (#14 Michigan State at .348 and #21 Purdue .318). Eight opponents have hit better than .200 this season (#8 Minnesota at .239, Arkansas at .227, Indiana at .200, #5 Minnesota at .240, #1 Penn State at .241, Ohio State at .249, and Indiana at .204) while 10 have hit under .200, and eight have hit under .100.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN
Among Big Ten freshmen, Sydney Hilley and Dana Rettke rank among the conference's best. Rettke leads all Big Ten freshmen with 1.39 blocks per set and with a .437 hitting percentage. She is also third in kills per set (3.38) and fourth in service aces per set (0.27). Hilley leads conference rookies with 11.57 assists per set while also ranking seventh in digs per set (2.15), ninth in service aces per set (0.18), and ninth in blocks per set (0.66).

IN THE NATIONAL STATS
In the NCAA stats through Nov. 12, Wisconsin ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.299), 18th in assists per set (13.36), and 25th in blocks per set (2.66). The Badgers are 38th in kills per set (13.93) and 41st in opponent hitting percentage (.170).
Freshman Dana Rettke is fifth in hitting percentage (.437) and 24th in blocks per set (1.39). Junior Tionna Williams is seventh in hitting percentage (.432). Freshman Sydney Hilley is 13th in assists per set (11.57). NCAA Statistics

PERSONAL BESTS SET
Three Badgers tied or set career bests at Indiana last week.

Sophomore Madison Duello tied her career high with one assist at Indiana.
Senior Lauryn Gillis had a career-best three assists vs. the Hoosiers.
Sophomore Sydney Hilley recorded a career-high six kills at Indiana.

I GOT THAT!
Five Badgers surpassed career milestones at Indiana or Purdue last week.

Sophomore Madison Duello picked up her 200th career kill at Purdue on Saturday.
Senior Lauryn Gillis earned 1,000 career kills at Indiana on Friday. She also played in her 100th match against the Hoosiers.
Freshman Sydney Hilley tallied her 1,000th career assist at Purdue on Saturday.
Junior Amber MacDonald played in her 300th career set against the Hoosiers.
Freshman Dana Rettke went over 300 kills for her career at Purdue.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Four UW players are closing in on career milestones.

Senior Kelli Bates is only one block away from 200 career stuffs. She is also four digs away from 1,300 career saves.
Sophomore Tiffany Clark will get her 500th career dig with 14 saves.
Freshman Sydney Hilley is nine digs away from 200 career saves.
Junior Tionna Williams is eight blocks away from 400 for her career.

BADGERS SIGN WOHLERT
Julia Wohlert, a 6-7 right-side hitter/middle blocker from Indianapolis, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball with the Badgers beginning in 2018.

A two-time all-county selection at Decatur Central High School, Wohlert is ranked No. 47 on the PrepVolleyball Senior Aces list. As a senior, she averaged 3.1 kills and 1.2 blocks per set while hitting .614 percent for coach Dee Taylor. Wohlert competed in the Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association North vs. South All-Star Team as a junior. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is a Senior Leader for Choice Academy. Wohlert also plays for Circle City Volleyball Club for coach Scott McQueen. Her team finished fifth at the 2017 USAV 17 Open Nationals and won the 2017 Academy Midwest Classic.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
ILLINOIS
The Illini lost two matches on their road trip to Michigan last weekend. On Friday, they got swept by No. 8 Michigan State before falling to Michigan in five sets on Saturday. They currently rank sixth in the conference with a 9-7 Big Ten record.
Illinois leads the conference in blocks, earning 2.97 stuffs per set. Junior middle blocker Ali Bastianelli paces the Big Ten with 1.64 blocks per set. Setter Jordyn Poulter adds an additional 0.94 blocks per set.

Poulter averages 10.87 assists per set while distributing the ball for the Illini. Her main targets are outside hitters Jacqueline Quade and Beth Prince, who earn 3.35 and 3.17 kills per set, respectively.
On defense, libero Brandi Donnelly ranks fourth in the conference, averaging 4.35 digs per set. Poulter adds 2.36 digs per set and freshman Morgan O'Brien digs another 2.19 balls per set, helping Illinois' backcourt to an average of 13.02 digs per set.

vs. Illinois
Illinois leads 47-37-1
In Champaign: Illinois leads 22-15
Last year: Wisconsin went 2-0 against Illinois in 2016, winning in four sets at home and sweeping the Wildcats on the road.
The streak: The Badgers have won six straight matches against the Illini.

NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats split their matches last week, topping Michigan on the road in five sets before being swept at No. 8 Michigan State. Northwestern is 12th in the Big Ten with a 4-12 conference record.

Senior outside hitter Symone Abbott leads the Big Ten in kills, averaging 4.14 per set. Fellow outside hitter Nia Robinson is averaging 3.52 kills per set during her freshman campaign, ranking seventh in the leauge. Northwestern ranks second in the conference behind the service line, notching 1.54 aces per set. Setter Taylor Tashima and sophomore Sarah Johnson earn 0.35 and 0.28 aces per set, respectivley, to pace the Wildcats.

At the net, middle blocker Gabrielle Hazen records a team-high 1.11 stuffs per set. Libero Lexi Pitsas leads the team with 2.85 digs per set. Tashima and Sarah Johnson earn 2.42 and 2.19 ups per set, respectively.

vs. Northwestern
Wisconsin leads 52-29
In Evanston: Wisconsin leads 24-12
Last meeting: UW swept Northwestern in the UW Field House on Oct. 28.
The streak: Wisconsin has topped Northwestern in their last five meetings.

University of Wisconsin Athletics

This week in Badger Volleyball: Nov. 13-19

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Players Mentioned

Kelli Bates

Tiffany Clark

M.E. Dodge

Madison Duello

Lauryn Gillis

Sydney Hilley

Amber MacDonald

Dana Rettke

Tionna Williams

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