Rettke named Regional Player of the Year; Sheffield honored as Coach of the Year

MADISON, Wis. -- Junior Dana Rettke was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Player of the Year, the organization announced on Tuesday.

Rettke was one of four Badgers named to the all-region team, being joined by Molly Haggerty, Sydney Hilley and Grace Loberg on the 14-player team. Head coach Kelly Sheffield was named the Regional Coach of the Year.

All four players will now be eligible for AVCA All-America honors, which will be announced on Dec. 18.

Rettke is first Badger Player of the Year

Rettke is the first Badger to be named Regional Player of the Year since the award was begun in 2017. The 6-foot-8 middle blocker ranks 12^th nationally in blocks per set (1.42), 16th in hitting percentage (.401), 76th in kills per set (3.77) and 102nd in service aces per set (0.36).

She is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year after being named the Big Ten Player of the Week four times this season, the most by any conference player. Rettke is a three-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree, the fourth UW player to earn at least three all-conference awards, and earns her third-straight all-region award.

Sheffield named Coach of the Year

Sheffield earns his third AVCA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year honor after leading the Badgers to the 2019 Big Ten Championship, the second in his seven years at Wisconsin. He has also guided UW to seven-straight NCAA tournament appearances, advancing to at least the Sweet 16 all seven seasons. Sheffield is 184-48 in his seventh season at Wisconsin and 457-157 in his 18^th year as a head coach.

Haggerty, Hilley and Loberg net honors

Haggerty earns her second all-region award and her first since 2016 when she was also named the Regional Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades this season, ranking second on the team with 3.50 kills per set, which is a season's best for the redshirt junior and ranks eighth in the Big Ten. She became the 24^th Badger to put away 1,000 career kills when she hit her seventh kill of the match vs. UCLA last Saturday. Haggerty is also hitting a season-best .260.

Hilley is the reigning Big Ten Setter of the Year, leading the Big Ten and ranking second nationally with 12.17 assists per set. The 6-foot Badger has set the Wisconsin offense to a Big Ten-leading .295 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth nationally. Hilley earns her third all-region award, including two first-team honors.

Loberg follows up her first All-Big Ten award with her first all-region honor. The 6-foot-3 outside hitter ranks third on the team with 3.16 kills per set, which ranks 15^th in the Big Ten, while hitting a season's best .270.

Badgers host NCAA Regional

For the fourth time in program history, Wisconsin hosts NCAA Regional action in the UW Field House. The fourth-seeded Badgers (24-6) face off against No. 13 Texas A&M (23-7) on Friday at 1 p.m. live on ESPNU. Fifth-seeded Nebraska (26-4) takes on No. 12 Hawai'I (25-3) in the other regional semifinal at 3:30 p.m. on Friday on ESPN3.

Semifinal winners play on Saturday at 5 p.m. live on ESPNU for the right to advance to the NCAA National Championship on Dec. 19 and Dec. 21 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Northeast Region

Player of the Year: Dana Rettke, Wisconsin, MB, Jr.
Freshman of the Year: Kylie Murr, Ohio State, L
Coach of the Year: Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin

Name	School	Pos.	Year
Gabby Blossom	Penn State	S	So.
Grace Cleveland	Purdue	RS	So.
Molly Haggerty**	Wisconsin	OH	RS-Jr.
Sydney Hilley**	Wisconsin	S	Jr.
Kaitlyn Hord**	Penn State	MB	So.
Chichi Ikwuazom	Columbia	MB	Sr.
Tia Jimerson	Ohio	MB	Jr.
Grace Loberg	Wisconsin	OH	Jr.
Blake Mohler**	Purdue	MB	RS-Sr.
Caitlyn Newton	Purdue	OH	Jr.
Jonni Parker**	Penn State	RS	So.
Jacqueline Quade**	Illinois	OH	Sr.
Dana Rettke***	Wisconsin	MB	Jr.
Kendall White***	Penn State	L	Sr.

Honorable Mention

Name	School	Pos.	Year
Anna Brinkmann	Northern Kentucky	OH	So.
Emma Granger	Robert Morris	MB	Jr.
Serena Gray	Penn State	MB	So.
Alli Lowe	Colgate	OH	Jr.
Maggie O'Connell	Princeton	RS	Sr.
Jenna Story	Wright State	L	So.