Five things to know: Round One

Friday, December 6

Madison, WI

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Illinois State

Tickets

Badgers celebrate a point against Nebraska

Photo by: Julia Kostopoulos

Five things to know: Round One

December 05, 2019 | Volleyball

Badgers take on Illinois State in the first round of NCAA tournament

By: Drew Kocken

No. 5 Wisconsin

22-6, 18-2

Illinois State

22-11, 12-6

Game Coverage

Friday, December 6 | 7:00 p.m. CT | UW Field House | Madison, Wis.

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MADISON, Wis. – No. 4 Wisconsin (22-6, 18-2 B1G) kicks off the 2019 NCAA Tournament on Friday with its first round matchup against Illinois State. The Badgers take on the Redbirds at 7:00 p.m. CT from the UW Field House, live on BTN+.

1. POST-SEASON SUCCESS: UW is making its seventh-straight and 23rd overall NCAA tournament appearance. The Badgers are 46-22 in 22 years of the tournament, advancing to at least the Sweet 16 the last six years in a row. Wisconsin has been a top-four seed in the tournament just two other times, a No. 3 seed in 2016 and a No. 4 seed in 2014.

2. BACK ON TOP: Wisconsin won its first Big Ten championship since 2014 and its sixth overall with a 3-0 win at Rutgers on Saturday. The Badgers started off their weekend with a 3-2 loss at No. 7 Penn State and needed a win on Saturday to claim the title. UW won the title outright after Minnesota downed the Nittany Lions, 3-1, on Saturday.

3. ALL-BIG TEN BADGERS: Junior Dana Rettke was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, the fifth Badger to earn the annual award. 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). Junior Sydney Hilley was named the Big Ten Setter of the Year after leading the Big Ten with 12.16 assists per set. Head coach Kelly Sheffield was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by league media, his second Big Ten honor.

Rettke, Hilley and junior Grace Loberg all earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. 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.

4. HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE: The Badgers put their 10-match home winning streak on the line this weekend. Wisconsin wrapped up its home Big Ten season with a perfect 10-0 record, the first time since 2001 that UW is undefeated at home in conference play.

5. APPROACHING MILESTONES: Junior Molly Haggerty is counting down to 1,000 career kills, needing 15 attacks to achieve the milestone. She would be the second Badger this season to hit 1,000 kills following Dana Rettke, who earned the landmark on Oct. 9. Junior Sydney Hilley is on track to become the sixth Badger and the 51st Big Ten athlete to record 4,000 assists in a career. The 6-foot setter has 3,911 helpers in her third season, which ranks seventh at Wisconsin. Hilley needs just 12 assists to move into sixth, a spot currently held by Lizzy Fitzgerald (1998-2001) with 3,923 helpers.