MADISON, Wis. – It was a near sweep of the Big Ten Conference weekly volleyball awards for the league-leading Wisconsin Badgers. Junior Dana Rettke was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the third time this season while senior Tiffany Clark was named the co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Not to be left out was junior Sydney Hilley picking up her fourth Big Ten Setter of the Week award of the year.
Rettke led all players with 17 kills and a .654 hitting percentage against Maryland on Wednesday as she didn't have a hitting error in 26 attempts. The 6-foot-8 middle blocker also added a match-high four blocks against the Terrapins. At Indiana on Sunday, Rettke added eight kills and five blocks to average 4.17 kills and 1.50 blocks per set on the week. She also hit .537 as the Badgers won both matches by 3-0 scores.
Clark earns her first defensive player of the week accolade after averaging 5.0 digs, 0.67 assists and 0.50 service aces per set on the week. The 5-foot-11 libero recorded a match-high 20 digs as Indiana as the Hoosiers hit an opponent season-low .065 percent. On the week, UW foes hit just .108. Clark added 10 digs vs. Maryland as she has recorded 10-or-more digs in 15 matches this season, including the last three in a row. She was also perfect on service reception, not getting aced on 13 attempts.
Hilley has the Badger offense running like a well-oiled machine as UW has hit .300-or-better the last four matches in a row. The 6-foot-setter led the team to a .355 attack percentage on the week as Wisconsin has opened the Big Ten season with a school-record 12-0 mark. Hilley averaged 12.83 assists per set while adding 2.50 digs, 0.50 kills, 0.17 service aces and 0.17 blocks per set on the week.
No. 4 Wisconsin (16-4, 12-0 B1G) continues its four-match road swing, traveling to Ohio State and Maryland this weekend, putting its undefeated Big Ten road record on the line. The Badgers take on the Buckeyes (12-12, 5-7) on Friday at 6 p.m. CT from the new Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The road trip continues on Saturday when Wisconsin travels to College Park, Maryland, to face the Terrapins (12-12, 4-8) for the second time in 10 days. First serve is at 5 p.m. CT from the XFinity Center Pavilion.
