Rettke named AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year

Rettke, Williams and Hilley earn all-region honors

Volleyball December 05, 2017

Rettke named AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year

Rettke, Williams and Hilley earn all-region honors

MADISON, Wis. — The awards keep rolling in for Wisconsin volleyball's Dana Rettke. After being named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year, the 6-foot-8 middle blocker was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Freshman of the Year.

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

Rettke becomes the third-straight Badger and the fourth overall to earn the rookie honor, following teammates Molly Haggerty, who was honored in 2016, and Williams, who received the award in 2015.

On the season, Rettke leads the Badgers and ranks second in the Big Ten with a .446 hitting percentage. She also leads the team and ranks 11th in the conference with 3.43 kills per set. The freshman has a team-best 1.40 blocks per set, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Rettke also shares the team lead with 25 service aces (0.23 per set).

Williams, a 6-2 middle blocker, ranks second on the Badgers and fourth in the Big Ten with a .390 hitting percentage. A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Williams is also second on the team with 1.01 blocks per set while adding 2.45 kills per set.

A 6-0 setter, Hilley ranks second in the Big Ten with 11.76 assists per set. She shares the team lead with 25 service aces this season while adding 2.06 digs, 0.68 kills and 0.65 blocks per set.

All three Badgers are now eligible for AVCA All-America honors which will be announced on Dec. 13.

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.

AVCA Northeast All-Region
Sherridan	Atkinson	Purdue	RS	RS-Jr.
Ali	Bastianelli**	Illinois	MB	Jr.
Danielle	Cuttino***	Purdue	MB/OH	Sr.
Ashley	Evans	Purdue	S	RS-Sr.
Ali	Frantti***	Penn State	OH	Sr.
Simone	Lee**	Penn State	OH	Sr.
Jordyn	Poulter**	Illinois	S	Jr.
Dana	Rettke	Wisconsin	MB	Fr.
Kallie	Seimet	Bowling Green	L	Jr.
Heidi	Thelen	Penn State	RS	Sr.
Haleigh	Washington***	Penn State	MB	Sr.
Ashley	Wenz	Ohio State	OH	Sr.
Kendall	White	Penn State	L	So.
Tionna	Williams**	Wisconsin	MB	Jr.

Honorable Mention
Abby	Detering	Penn State	S/H	Sr.
Sydney	Hilley	Wisconsin	S	Fr.
Gina	Kilner	Cleveland St.	S	Sr.
Maggie	O'Connell	Princeton	RS	So.
Luisa	Schirmer	Ohio State	OH	Sr.
Azariah	Stahl	Purdue	OH	Sr.

Player of the Year: Simone Lee, Penn State, OH
Freshman of the Year: Dana Rettke, Wisconsin, MB
Coach of the Year: Russ Rose, Penn State

* Denotes total number of years selected to AVCA Division I All-Region Team

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Players Mentioned

#23 Molly Haggerty: OH; 6' 1"; Sophomore; Glen Ellyn, Ill.

#11 Tionna Williams: MB; 6' 2"; Junior; Fort Wayne, Ind.

#2 Sydney Hilley: S; 6' 0"; Freshman

#16 Dana Rettke: MB; 6' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#23 Molly Haggerty
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; Glen Ellyn, Ill.
: OH

#11 Tionna Williams
: 6' 2"; Junior; Fort Wayne, Ind.
: MB

#2 Sydney Hilley
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: S

#16 Dana Rettke
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: MB

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