Rettke named Big Ten Player of the Year; Hilley honored as Setter of the Year

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MADISON, Wis. -- Junior Dana Rettke was named the Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Year to lead the Big Ten championship Wisconsin volleyball team in its post-season awards, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

In addition to Rettke, junior Sydney Hilley was named the Big Ten Setter of the Year and head coach Kelly Sheffield was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by league media.

Rettke, Hilley and junior Grace Loberg were named first-team All-Big Ten while senior Madison Duello and juniors Molly Haggerty and Danielle Hart earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. The six total All-Big Ten honors is the most in one season for Wisconsin.

Rettke is fifth Badger Player of the Year

Rettke is the fifth Badger to be named Big Ten Player of the Year and the first since Lauren Carlini was honored in 2014. In conference-only matches, the 6-foot-8 middle blocker led the league in blocks per set (1.46), ranked fifth in hitting percentage (.381), ranked fifth in kills per set (3.62), and ranked sixth in aces per set (0.38). In all matches, Rettke ranks second in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.40), third in hitting percentage (.402), fifth in kills per set (3.77) and fifth in aces per set (0.37).

She was named the Big Ten Player of the Week four times this season, the most by any conference player. Rettke is also an eight-time Big Ten Player of the Week, setting the UW record for most career POW honors. That mark also ties for the third-most ever in conference history. Rettke is now a three-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree, the fourth UW player to earn at least three all-conference awards.

Hilley sets Badgers to record offense

Hilley is just the second UW player to be named Big Ten Setter of the Year, following in the footsteps of Carlini, who was a two-time Setter of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

Hilley leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with 12.16 assists per set. In Big Ten-only matches, she led the league with 12.45 assists per set, setting the UW 25-point rally scoring season record. Her average is more than 1.0 assist-per-set better than the next setter in the league. She also added 0.70 blocks per set for fourth on the team.

The 6-foot Badger set the Wisconsin offense to a Big Ten-leading .295 percent in all matches. Wisconsin hit .300 in conference matches, setting the all-time (any scoring) season record for conference play.

Hilley was a six-time Big Ten Setter of the Week this season and 11 times in her career, tying Lauren Carlini for the most UW career awards. She earns her second-straight first-team honor.

Sheffield named Coach of the Year

Sheffield led 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 the last six seasons. Sheffield is 182-48 in his seventh season at Wisconsin and 455-157 in his 18^th year as a head coach.

Loberg earns first Big Ten award

Loberg earns her first All-Big Ten award after ranking third on the team with 3.19 kills per set while hitting .287. In Big Ten-only matches, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter ranks 12^th in the Big Ten with 3.26 kills per set and 13^th in hitting percentage at .287.

Trio named second-team All-Big Ten

Duello earns second-team All-Big Ten honors after being a first-teamer in 2018. The 6-foot-3 right-side hitter puts away 2.08 kills per set while hitting .266. She also adds 0.78 blocks per set, which ranks third on the Badgers.

Haggerty earns second-team honors after honorable mention accolades in 2016. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter ranks second on the team with 3.48 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the Big Ten. She is counting down to 1,000 career kills, needing only 15 to achieve the milestone.

Hart is recognized by the Big Ten for the first time in her career. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker ranks second on the team and 11^th in the Big Ten with 1.08 blocks per set. She also ties for 11^th in the conference with a .318 hitting percentage. Hart also puts away 1.78 kills per set.

In addition to the athletic honors, senior M.E. Dodge was named the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner. The 5-foot-10 defensive specialist has played in 120 matches and 431 sets in her career. She averages 1.77 digs per set as a Badger.

Badgers host NCAA action

For the seventh-straight season and for the 23rd time in program history, Wisconsin earned a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Badgers were selected as the No. 4-seed in the tournament and will host first and second round matches on Friday-Saturday in the UW Field House.

No. 24 UCLA (18-11) takes on Notre Dame (19-9) in the opening first-round match on Friday at 4:30 p.m. before Wisconsin (22-6) faces off against Illinois State (22-11) at 7 p.m. First-round winners advance to the second round of the tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Field House.

2019 Big Ten Volleyball All-Big Ten Honorees

Player of the Year: Dana Rettke, Jr., Wisconsin
Defensive Player of the Year: Kendall White, Sr., Penn State
Setter of the Year: Sydney Hilley, Jr., Wisconsin
Freshman of the Year: Madi Kubik, Nebraska
Coach of the Year (Coaches): Russ Rose, Penn State
Coach of the Year (Media): Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin

First Team
Jacqueline Quade, Sr., OH, Illinois
Katie Myers, So., MB, Maryland
Paige Jones, So., OH, Michigan*
Mackenzi Welsh, Sr., S, Michigan
CC McGraw, So., L, Minnesota
Regan Pittman, Jr., MB, Minnesota*
Stephanie Samedy, Jr., RS, Minnesota
Nicklin Hames, So., S, Nebraska
Lauren Stivrins, Jr., MB, Nebraska*
Lexi Sun, Jr., OH, Nebraska
Kaitlyn Hord, So., MB, Penn State*
Jonni Parker, So., RS, Penn State*
Kendall White, Sr., L, Penn State*
Grace Cleveland, So., OH, Purdue*
Blake Mohler, Sr., MB, Purdue
Sydney Hilley, Jr., S, Wisconsin*
Grace Loberg, Jr., OH, Wisconsin
Dana Rettke, Jr., MB, Wisconsin*

* denotes unanimous selection

Second Team
Ashlyn Fleming, Sr., MB, Illinois
Breana Edwards, So., OH, Indiana
Cori Crocker, Sr., MB, Michigan
Alexis Hart, Sr., OH, Minnesota
Taylor Morgan, Sr., OH, Minnesota
Madi Kubik, Fr., OH, Nebraska
Temi Thomas-Ailara, Fr., OH, Northwestern
Kylie Murr, Fr., L, Ohio State
Gabby Blossom, So., S, Penn State
Caitlyn Newton, Jr., OH, Purdue
Madison Duello, Sr., RS, Wisconsin
Molly Haggerty, Jr., OH, Wisconsin
Danielle Hart, So., MB, Wisconsin

All-Freshman Team
Diana Brown, S, Illinois
May Pertofsky, MB/OH, Michigan
Jessica Robinson, MB, Michigan
Kenzie Knuckles, L, Nebraska
Madi Kubik, OH, Nebraska
Temi Thomas-Ailara, OH, Northwestern
Jenaisya Moore, OH, Ohio State
Kylie Murr, L, Ohio State

Sportsmanship Honorees
Beth Prince, Sr., OH, Illinois
Meaghan Koors, Sr., DS, Indiana
Brie Orr, Jr., S, Iowa
Taylor Smith, Sr., S, Maryland
Sydney Wetterstrom, Sr., OH, Michigan
Sam McLean, Sr., DS/L, Michigan State
Lauren Litzau, Sr., DS/L, Minnesota
Anezka Szabo, So., OH, Nebraska
Emily Ehman, Sr., L, Northwestern
Bia Rodrigues-Franklin, Sr., OH, Ohio State
Emily Sciorra, Sr., DS, Penn State
Jael Johnson, So., MB, Purdue
Jasmine Stackhouse, Sr., MB, Rutgers
M.E. Dodge, Sr., DS/L, Wisconsin

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