This week in Badger Volleyball

BADGERS OPEN SEASON AT BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE
No. 9 Wisconsin opens the 2018 season on Friday-Saturday at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The arena will be the site of the 2018 NCAA Championship.

Wisconsin and No. 4 Minnesota represent the Big Ten, taking on North Carolina and Florida State from the ACC. The Badgers take on the Tar Heels on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and the Seminoles on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's match airs live on the Big Ten Network.

Match 1 \| vs. North Carolina
Date	Friday, Aug. 24 \| 4:30 p.m.
Location	Target Center \| Minneapolis, Minn.
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 \| North Carolina

Match 2 \| vs. Florida State
Date	Saturday, Aug. 25 \| 4:30 p.m.
Location	Target Center \| Minneapolis, Minn.
Mobile App	Badger Gameday
TV	Big Ten Network or BTN Plus
Live Stats	UWBadgers.com
Radio	100.9 FM or iHeartRadio app
Social Media	@BadgerVB \| Facebook \| Instagram
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Florida State

AT THE NET

The Badgers are 30-14 all time in season openers, including a 12-5 neutral mark.
Wisconsin is 7-1 in the four years of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with its only loss coming at then-No. 11-North Carolina in 2016.
For the fifth straight year, Wisconsin opens the season among the top-10 teams in the nation. UW is ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Top-25 preseason poll.
After tying for seventh in last year's Big Ten race, the Badgers are picked to finish second in this year's contest based on a preseason vote of league coaches.
Sophomore Dana Rettke and senior Tionna Williams were named to the preseason All-Big Ten team.
UW has a young team in 2018 with one senior, five juniors and the nine underclassmen.
Juniors Tiffany Clark and M.E. Dodge as well as sophomore Sydney Hilley were elected tri-captains of the 2018 Badgers.
The Badgers return four All-Americans, including Dana Rettke, the first Badger freshman to earn first-team All-America honors. Senior Tionna Williams is a three-time All-American while redshirt sophomore Molly Haggerty and sophomore Sydney Hilley are both one-time honorees.
Wisconsin returns 12 letterwinners and five starters, including 2016 starter Molly Haggerty, plus its libero for 2018. The Badgers also welcome in redshirt freshmen Danielle Hart and Mariah Whalen as well as true freshman Julia Wohlert.
The Badgers return 67 percent of their kills and 85 percent of their blocks from 2017. Dana Rettke was UW's kill leader with 3.42 kills per set and also led the team with 1.37 blocks per set.
The Badgers are on track for their third-straight season for record attendance. UW opened six sections of the upper deck for the 2018 season, upping the capacity of the Field House to 7,052, an increase of 1,050 fans. Wisconsin has sold a record 6,423 season tickets.

SEASON OPENERS
The Badgers are 30-14 all time in season openers, including a 12-5 neutral mark. Wisconsin has won two straight season openers, including a 3-0 win over Louisville in the 2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Madison.

BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE HISTORY
The Big Ten dominates the history of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Big Ten is 14-2 in the Challenge. Minnesota fell to Louisville in the 2014 tournament while Wisconsin fell at North Carolina in 2017.

	FSU	MINN	UNC	WIS
2014	DNC#	1-1	DNC*	2-0
2015	DNC#	2-0	0-2	2-0
2016	DNC#	2-0	1-1	1-1
2017	DNC#	2-0	0-2	2-0
# FSU joins the Challenge for the first time in 2018, replacing Louisville; * Notre Dame competed in 2014

BADGERS RANKED NINTH
For the fifth straight year, Wisconsin opens the season among the top-10 teams in the nation. The Badgers are ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Top-25 preseason poll. It is the 10th time in program history that UW is ranked in the top 10 and the fifth-straight year under head coach Kelly Sheffield. Wisconsin was ranked fourth in 2016, tied for fifth in 2015, sixth in 2014, and seventh in 2017. AVCA poll

The Big Ten dominates the poll with four teams in the top 10 and seven teams in the top 25. Wisconsin ended the 2017 season ranked 12th, its fifth straight year in the top 12 nationally.

WISCONSIN PICKED SECOND
After tying for seventh in last year's Big Ten race, the Badgers are picked to finish second in this year's contest based on a preseason vote of league coaches. The Badgers, who were 11-9 in Big Ten matches in 2017, are picked to finish second behind reigning NCAA and Big Ten co-champion Nebraska. Big Ten Preseason poll

The Huskers (19-1 Big Ten record in 2017), who shared the 2017 conference championship with Penn State (19-1), are picked to win the Big Ten title this season. Minnesota (15-5) finished third last season and is picked to finish third in 2018. The Nittany Lions are ranked fourth while Illinois (12-8) is expected to finish fifth this season after tying for fifth with Purdue in 2017.

RETTKE, WILLIAMS RECOGNIZED
The Badgers landed two players on the preseason team, including unanimous selection Dana Rettke. The 6-8 middle blocker was named the 2017 National Player of the Year by three separate organizations and was also named the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Senior Tionna Williams, a two-time All-Big Ten selection, was also named to the preseason All-Big Ten team for the second-straight year.

YOUNG TEAM IN 2018
UW has a young team in 2018 with one senior, five juniors and the nine underclassmen. Senior Tionna Williams as well as juniors Tiffany Clark, Mallory Dixon, Sarah Dodd, M.E. Dodge, and Madison Duello will lead the team.

TRIO NAMED CAPTAINS
Juniors Tiffany Clark, M.E. Dodge and Sydney Hilley will serve as captains of the 2018 Wisconsin volleyball team.

Clark played in 24 matches as the Badgers' libero last season. She averaged a team-best 3.88 digs per set, which ranked sixth in the Big Ten. The 5-10 Clark recorded 10-or-more digs in 19 matches and had 20-plus digs in five matches, including a career-high 25 saves vs. Michigan State.

In 2017, Dodge ranked third on the team with 2.21 digs per set. She recorded double-figure digs in 11 matches, including a career high 21 vs. Marquette. The defensive specialist/libero earned Academic All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore, and recorded the first two services of her career last season.

Hilley earned honorable mention All-America honors as a freshman in 2017, ranking seventh nationally and second in the Big Ten with 11.76 assists per set. The 6-0 setter led the Badgers with nine double-doubles on the year, recording double-figure digs in nine matches. Hilley also averaged 2.02 digs, 0.66 kills and 0.64 blocks per set last season.

FOUR ALL-AMERICANS RETURN
The Badgers return four All-Americans, including Dana Rettke, the first Badger freshman to earn first-team All-America honors. Senior Tionna Williams is a three-time All-American while redshirt sophomore Molly Haggerty and sophomore Sydney Hilley are both one-time honorees.

Williams earned third-team All-America honors in 2016 while also being named honorable mention All-American in 2015 and 2017. Hilley earned honorable mention accolades as a freshman. Haggerty earned third-team All-America honors in 2016 and redshirted in 2017.

EXPERIENCE RETURNS
Wisconsin returns 12 letterwinners and five starters, including 2016 starter Molly Haggerty, plus its libero, for 2018. In addition to Haggerty, the Badgers also welcome in redshirt freshmen Danielle Hart and Mariah Whalen as well as true freshman Julia Wohlert.

The Badgers return 67 percent of their kills and 85 percent of their blocks from 2017. Rettke was UW's kill leader with 3.42 kills per set and also led the team with 1.37 blocks per set.

ATTENDANCE RECORDS SET
The Badgers are on track for their third-straight season for record attendance.

In 2017, UW sold out 15 of 16 home matches, drawing a total of 95,680 fans and averaging a school record 5,980 spectators per match. That broke the 2016 record of 5,927 fans per match. UW sold out all 10 Big Ten matches to total 60,120 fans and a school record 6,012 fans per match. Wisconsin has ranked among the top-three teams nationally for 18 straight years and among the top 10 nationally for 28 straight seasons.

UW opened six sections of the upper deck for the 2018 season, upping the capacity of the Field House to 7,052, an increase of 1,050 fans. Wisconsin has sold 6,423 season tickets in 2018, an increase of 1,538 tickets sold in 2017. The Badgers sold a then-record 4,885 season tickets last season, an increase of 1,445 from 2016.

REACH FOR THE STARS
UW has one of its tallest front-row teams. The average height of Wisconsin's front-row hitters is a little over 6-3. The Badgers have four players 6-3 or taller—Dana Rettke (6-8), Julia Wohlert (6-7), Danielle Hart (6-4), Madison Duello (6-3) and Grace Loberg (6-3).

Wisconsin has a total of 10 players at 6-0 or taller. In addition to the quartet at 6-3 or taller, six other players are 6-0 or taller—Tionna Williams (6-2), Nicole Shanahan (6-2), Mariah Whalen (6-1), Molly Haggerty (6-1) and Sydney Hilley (6-0).

10-FOOT CLUB
Wisconsin has six players who can touch 10-feet or higher. Dana Rettke leads the team at 10-4 while Madison Duello touches 10-3. Danielle Hart, Grace Loberg and Julia Wohlert all touch 10-2 ½ while Mariah Whalen can reach 10-0 ½. Redshirt junior Madison Duello has the best vertical on the team at 28 ½ inches.

BUSY SUMMER
Sophomore Dana Rettke was a member of the U.S.A. Volleyball Collegiate National Team-China that went 4-1 on a 10-day tour of China. Junior M.E. Dodge was a member of the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team-Detroit that played three matches at the 2018 Junior National Championships. Freshman Danielle Hart was a member of the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team-Europe that won a gold medal in the European Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

vs. North Carolina
Wisconsin leads 6-2
In Madison: Wisconsin leads 1-0
In Chapel Hill: North Carolina leads 2-1
Neutral: Wisconsin leads 4-0

Date	Place	W/L	Score
10/18/95	Richmond, Ky.	W	15-6, 15-13, 15-7
9/28/90	Lincon, Neb.	W	15-5, 15-4, 15-6
9/17/93	Hempstead, N.Y.	W	9-15, 15-3, 15-2, 15-13
9/15/96	Chapel Hill, N.C.	W	15-10, 15-4, 15-4
8/31/02	Chapel Hill, N.C.	L	28-30, 28-30, 38-36, 23-30
9/4/15	Louisville, Ky.	W	25-22, 25-20, 25-19
9/9/16	Chapel Hill, N.C.	L	23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 20-25, 11-15
8/25/17	Madison, Wis.	W	25-21, 25-17, 25-19