This week in Badger Volleyball: Dec. 4-9

Photo by: Jack McLaughlin

This week in Badger Volleyball: Dec. 4-9

December 05, 2017 | Volleyball

Wisconsin competes in NCAA Regional

BADGERS TRAVEL TO STANFORD FOR NCAA REGIONAL
For the fifth-straight season, the Badgers will compete in the regional round of the NCAA championship. Wisconsin will compete in the Stanford Regional at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California, on Friday-Saturday.

No. 6 Texas (26-2) takes on No. 11 Utah (24-9) in the first regional semifinal on Friday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN3. Unseeded Wisconsin (22-9) faces No. 3 Stanford (28-3) in the second regional semifinal at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. Semifinal winners advance to the regional final on Saturday at 9 p.m. live on ESPNU.

The regional champion will compete in the NCAA National Semifinals on Dec. 14 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The national championship match will be held on Dec. 16 at the Sprint Center.

WATCH PARTY AT THE SETT
Join other Badger fans at The Sett in Union South this Friday night to cheer us on! There will be FREE giveaways, t-shirts thrown after set wins, and raffle prizes during intermission. The Watch Party will kick-off at 9:30 in the event that the Utah vs. Texas match finishes early.

Match 32 \| at #3 Stanford
Date	Friday, Dec. 8 \| 10 p.m. CT
Location	Maples Pavilion \| Stanford, Calif.
Mobile App	Badger Gameday
TV	ESPNU
Live Stats	UWBadgers.com
Radio	100.9 FM or iHeartRadio app
Social Media	@BadgerVB \| Facebook \| Instagram
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Stanford

Match 33 \| REGIONAL FINAL
Date	Saturday, Dec. 9 \| 9 p.m. CT
Location	Maples Pavilion \| Stanford, Calif.
Mobile App	Badger Gameday
TV	ESPNU
Live Stats	UWBadgers.com
Radio	100.9 FM or iHeartRadio app
Social Media	@BadgerVB \| Facebook \| Instagram
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Texas \| Utah

AT THE NET

Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16 after sweeping Marquette and 14th-seeded Iowa State at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
The Badgers improve to 44-20 in their 21st NCAA tournament and 15-4 under fifth-year head coach Kelly Sheffield.
UW is 8-6 in regional semifinal play, including a 3-1 record under coach Kelly Sheffield.
Wisconsin has met Stanford twice in NCAA Regional play, losing to the Cardinal both times. UW fell to Stanford, 3-0 in the 2004 regional final in Green Bay and dropped a 3-2 decision in Madison in the regional final last season.
The Badgers are one of five unseeded teams to advance to NCAA regional play. Illinois, Colorado, Michigan State, and Missouri are also unseeded.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with six teams in the Sweet 16. In addition to Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin, No. 1 Penn State, No. 5 Nebraska and No. 7 Minnesota also advanced.
Dana Rettke was named the AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year, becoming the third-straight Badger and the fourth overall to earn the rookie honor. Rettke and junior Tionna Williams were named to the all-region team while freshman Sydney Hilley earned honorable mention accolades.
Wisconsin turned up its back-row play in NCAA play, averaging 17.17 digs per set on the weekend. Sophomore Tiffany Clark averaged 5.33 digs per set while senior Kelli Bates added 4.50 digs per set.

SWEET 16 AGAIN!
Wisconsin advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 after sweeping Marquette and 14th-seeded Iowa State at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Badgers are playing in their fifth straight NCAA Sweet 16 and 15th in program history. Wisconsin is 8-6 in regional semifinals, including a 3-1 record under coach Kelly Sheffield. UW is one of only five teams to advance to the Sweet 16 the last five years in a row, joining BYU, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.

Wisconsin has met Stanford twice in NCAA Regional play, losing to the Cardinal both times. UW fell to Stanford, 3-0, in the 2004 regional final in Green Bay and dropped a 3-2 decision in Madison in the regional final last season.

UNSEEDED TEAMS ADVANCE
The Badgers are one of five unseeded teams to advance to NCAA regional play. Illinois, Colorado, Michigan State, and Missouri are also unseeded. Wisconsin is unseeded in the tournament for the first time since 2003.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with six teams in the Sweet 16. In addition to Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin, No. 1 Penn State, No. 5 Nebraska and No. 7 Minnesota also advanced.

RETTKE NAMED AVCA NORTHEAST REGION FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Dana Rettke was named the AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year, becoming the third-straight Badger and the fourth overall to earn the rookie honor, following teammates Molly Haggerty, who was honored in 2016, and Tionna Williams, who received the award in 2015.

Rettke was also named to the all-region team. Williams earns her second-straight first-team all-region award while freshman Sydney Hilley earned honorable mention accolades.

SIX NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Six members of the Wisconsin team were named Academic All-Big Ten. In order to be named to the team, student-athletes must be non-first-year athletes and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better.

Senior Lauryn Gillis earns her first academic award and is joined on the team by junior Amber MacDonald, a two-time honoree, and sophomores Mallory Dixon, Sarah Dodd, M.E. Dodge and Madison Duello.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN
Two freshmen Dana Rettke and Grace Loberg led the Badgers on offensively in the NCAA first and second rounds. Rettke averaged 4.33 kills per set while Loberg put away 4.00 kills per set.

Rettke shared match-high honors with 11 kills against the Golden Eagles and had a match-high 15 kills against the Cyclones, including nine kills in the third set alone. Loberg had a career-high 11 kills vs. Marquette on Friday before upping that to 13 kills vs. Iowa State on Saturday. On the weekend, Rettke averaged 4.33 kills per set while hitting .467. Loberg put away 4.00 kills per set while hitting .396.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN II
Among the nation's freshmen, Sydney Hilley and Dana Rettke rank among the best.

Rettke has the top hitting percentage (.446) among the nation's freshman, according to a report by PrepVolleyball. She also ranks second in blocks per set (1.40). Hilley ranks second among rookie setters with 11.76 assists per set.

In the Big Ten, Rettke leads all freshmen in hitting percentage and blocks per set. She is also third in kills per set (3.42) and tied for fourth in service aces per set (0.23). Hilley leads conference newcomers in assists per set while also tying for fourth in service aces per set (0.21), seventh in digs per set (2.06), and 10th in blocks per set (0.65).

IN THE NATIONAL STATS
In the NCAA stats through Dec. 3, Wisconsin ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.298), 14th in assists per set (13.54), and 26th in kills per set (14.11). The Badgers are 30th in blocks per set (2.58) and 39th in opponent hitting percentage (.171).

Freshman Dana Rettke is third in hitting percentage (.446) and 22nd in blocks per set (1.40). Junior Tionna Williams is 21st in hitting percentage (.390). Freshman Sydney Hilley is seventh in assists per set (11.76). NCAA Statistics

DEFENSIVE MINDED
Wisconsin turned up its back-row play in NCAA play, averaging 17.17 digs per set on the weekend. Sophomore Tiffany Clark averaged 5.33 digs per set while senior Kelli Bates added 4.50 digs per set. Clark had a match-high 19 digs vs. the Golden Eagles, which was a three-set individual high for the Badgers this season. She added 13 digs vs. the Cyclones. Bates had 10 saves vs. Marquette and a team-high 17 digs against Iowa State.

HITTING CONNECTION
The Badgers improved to 17-0 on the season when they hit better than .300 after hitting .337 vs. Marquette and .317 at Iowa State. Wisconsin hit .326 on the weekend, averaging 16.67 kills per set. Freshman Sydney Hilley put up 13.83 assists per set, running the UW offense.

Wisconsin has hit better than 25 of 31 opponents this season, connecting on .296 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 17 matches.

DOUBLING UP

Senior Kelli Bates recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs vs. Marquette on Friday. It was her 31st career double-double, which ranks 10th on the UW all-time list.
Freshman Sydney Hilley shares the team lead with nine double-doubles this season.
Senior Lauryn Gillis has two double-doubles this season and nine in her career.
Junior Tionna Williams earned her first career double-double with 10 kills and 11 blocks vs. Lipscomb on Sept. 7.
Freshman Dana Rettke had her first career double-double at Northwestern on Nov. 19 with 13 kills and a career-high 10 blocks.

SERVING BADGERS
Freshman Sydney Hilley recorded three service aces on the weekend to move her into a tie for the team lead with 25 aces this season. Hilley and freshman Dana Rettke lead the team with 25 aces (0.23/set) while sophomore Madison Duello adds 21 aces (0.20/set). Senior Kelli Bates chips in 15 aces (0.14/set).

DOUBLE-FIGURE KILLS
Five Badgers have recorded double-figure kills in at least eight matches this season, including a team-best 23 matches for freshman Dana Rettke. The 6-8 middle blocker has led the team in kills in 17 matches. Senior Lauryn Gillis has 10-or-more kills in 14 matches while senior Kelli Bates has hit double digits in 12 contests. Junior Tionna Williams has double-figure kills in nine matches and sophomore Madison Duello in eight matches.

BALANCED OFFENSE, DEFENSE
The Badgers have four players that average 2.0 or more kills per set on the season. Freshman Dana Rettke leads the team with 3.42 kills per set. Senior Kelli Bates chips in 2.63 kills per set while senior Lauryn Gillis adds 2.53 kills per set. Junior Tionna Williams contributes in 2.45 kills per set. Sophomore Madison Duello is close behind with 1.98 kills per set.

In the back row, UW has four players that average 2.0 or more digs per set. Sophomore Tiffany Clark has a team-best 3.90 digs per set while Bates adds 2.72 digs per set and M.E. Dodge contributes 2.20 digs per set. Freshman Sydney Hilley chips in 2.06 digs per set.

Wisconsin also has four players that average 0.60 or more blocks per set. Rettke (1.40), Williams (1.01), Madison Duello (0.87) and Hilley (0.65) lead the team.

PERSONAL BESTS SET
Two Badgers tied or set career bests in NCAA play last weekend.

Freshman Grace Loberg set a career-high 11 kills vs. Marquette on Friday before upping that to 13 kills at Iowa State on Saturday. She also took a career best 33 attack attempts vs. the Cyclones.
Freshman Dana Rettke tied her career best with four digs vs. Marquette.

I GOT THAT!
One Badger surpassed a career milestone at in NCAA play last weekend.

Sophomore Tiffany Clark picked up her 300th dig as a Badger against Marquette on Friday. The 5-10 libero has 328 digs at Wisconsin.

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

Senior Kelli Bates needs 17 kills for 1,100 in her career. She also need 34 digs for 1,400 career saves.
Sophomore Tiffany Clark is counting down to 600 career digs, needing 33 saves.
Freshman Grace Loberg is only seven kills away from 100 in her first season.
Freshman Dana Rettke will reach 400 career kills with 27 putaways.
Junior Tionna Williams is counting down to 800 career kills, needing 37 tallies.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

No. 3 STANFORD (28-3)
The Cardinal have an overall record of 28-3 and won the Pac-12 title with a 19-1 record. They have earned an NCAA tournament bid 37 times, one of two teams to appear in every tournament.

Sophomore Kathryn Plummer paces the Cardinal offense with 4.65 kills per set. Redshirt senior Merete Lutz adds another 2.91 kills per set. Stanford is a strong serving team, averaging 1.56 aces per set. Setter Jenna Gray leads the team with 0.38 aces per set with Plummer adding an aditional 0.36 aces per set. On defense, sophomore libero Morgan Hentz earns 4.00 digs per set. At the net, middle blockers Audriana Fitzmoris and Tami Alade earn 1.52 and 1.46 stuffs per set, respectively, helping the Cardinal average 3.13 blocks per set.

vs. Stanford
Stanford leads 3-0
In Stanford: First meeting
Last meeting: The Cardinal edged UW, 3-2, in the NCAA regional final in the UW Field House on Dec. 10, 2017.

No. 6 TEXAS (26-2)
The Longhorns finished the 2017 regular season 26-2 and were a perfect 16-0 in Big 12 play. They are playing in their 34th NCAA tournament.

Outside hitters Micaya White and Lexi Sun earn 3.45 and 3.38 kills per set, respectively, to lead Texas' offense. Setter Ashley Shook earns 10.85 assists per set while running the Longhorns offense. Middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Morgan Johnson help Texas to 3.24 blocks per set by averaging 1.70 and 1.26 stuffs per set, respectively. In the backcourt, Texas saves 15.29 balls per set thanks to 4.39 digs per set from libero Cat McCoy, 2.50 ups per set from White, and 2.36 digs per set from Shook.

vs. Texas
Texas leads 4-3
Neutral: Wisconsin leads 1-0
Last meeting: The Badgers beat Texas, 3-2, in Austin on Sept. 18, 2016.

No. 11 UTAH (23-9)
The Utes went 23-9 in 2017 and finished fourth in the Pac-12 with a 13-7 record. Utah is appearing in their 14th NCAA tournament.

Adora Anae is a six-rotation player averaging 4.27 kills per set and 3.22 digs per set. She leads the Utes with 544 points this season. Carly Trueman and Berkeley Oblad average 2.56 and 2.31 kills per set, respectively, helping the Utes put down 14.37 kills collectively. Averaging 15.67 digs per set as a team, libero Brianna Doehrmann leads the way with 3.24 saves per set. Shannon Scully and Bailey Choy add another 2.38 and 2.35 digs per set, respectively. At the net, middle blockers Twanee Laufalemana and Oblad earn 1.21 and 1.13 blocks per set for a team average of 2.63 stuffs per set.

vs. Utah
Wisconsin leads 1-0
Neutral: Wisconsin leads 1-0
Last meeting: Wisconsin swept Utah on Sept. 10, 1988.