Serving Up Six: Badgers fight for Big Ten Title

Friday, November 26

UW Field House, Madison, Wis.

4:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Nebraska

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The Badgers celebrate a point against Penn State on the court.

Photo by: Bianca Miceli

Serving Up Six: Badgers fight for Big Ten Title

November 23, 2021 | Volleyball

Wisconsin hosts No. 11 Nebraska and Indiana

By: Annalee Gunderson

Venue	UW Field House \| Madison, Wis.
Match Notes	Wisconsin \| Nebraska \| Indiana
Statistics	Wisconsin \| Nebraska \| Indiana \| Big Ten
TV	vs. Nebraska \| vs. Indiana
Radio	Listen Live on U100.9 FM
Live Stats	vs. Nebraska \| vs. Indiana
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

MADISON, Wis. -- The 2021 Big Ten Championship comes down to Friday when the Badgers (23-3, 15-3 B1G) host No. 11 Nebraska on Friday afternoon at the UW Field House. First serve is at 4:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network. The Badgers and Huskers are tied for first in the conference standings at 15-3.

The conference season wraps up on Saturday with a match against Indiana at 7 p.m. streamed live on B1G+. Wisconsin will honor their 2021 senior class in post-match ceremonies. The Badgers will recognize Lauren Barnes, Giorgia Civita, Sydney Hilley, Grace Loberg, Dana Rettke, and Julia Wohlert.

The 2021 Big Ten Championship comes down to the final two matches of play as five teams have a chance to win the title. If the Badgers win both of their remaining matches, they will win their third-straight Big Ten title. Only Penn State (1996-97-98; 2003-04-05-06-07-08-09-10) and Illinois (1986-87-88) have won three-straight conference titles.

1. ONE AWAY: Head coach Kelly Sheffield is counting down to 500 career wins, needing one victory to hit the milestone. In his ninth year at Wisconsin, Sheffield is 499-165 (.752) in his 21st year as a head coach. Sheffield also ranks second on UW's all-time winningest coach list. He has 226 wins in his ninth season at UW, trailing only Pete Waite (1999-2012), who had 305 wins. Sheffield has the highest winning percentage of any coach at Wisconsin at .810.

2. IT'S HAPPENING, HILLEY: Graduate student Sydney Hilley is on track to break the UW career record for assists. Hilley ranks second with 5,801 assists, needing 33 assists to better the school record of 5,833 assists set by Laura Abbinante (1993-96), who will be in attendance on Friday night. Abbinante currently ranks eighth in the Big Ten in career assists.

3. BIG TEN'S BEST:  Two Badgers earned Big Ten weekly awards with Sydney Hilley being named the Big Ten Setter of the Week and Julia Orzol recognized as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Hilley is a 17-time Setter of the Week, the second-most in conference history. Orzol is a three-time Freshman of the Week and one-time Player of the Week this season.

Hilley averaged 13.11 assists per set last weekend, running the Badger offense that put up 16.00 kills per set while hitting .274. She also averaged 3.00 digs and 0.89 blocks per set, recording back-to-back double-doubles. Orzol averaged 3.22 kills per set while hitting .288. She also added 2.67 digs per set, recording back-to-back double-doubles.

4. BADGERS ARE KILLING IT: Five players recorded double-figure kills at Minnesota on Sunday, marking the first time since Nov. 14, 2018 vs. Penn State that five Badgers tallied 10-or-more kills. Dana Rettke led Wisconsin with 21 kills while Jade Demps (18), Julia Orzoł (14), Grace Loberg (14) and Devyn Robinson (13) added double figures. Sunday's match also marked the first time since the 2018 season that three players recorded double-doubles. Sydney Hilley (65 assists/16 digs), Jade Demps (18 kills/16 digs) and Julia Orzoł (14 kills/14 digs) had impressive matches.

5. SELECTION SUNDAY:   The 2021 DI Women's Volleyball Selection Selection Show is on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. That's when the field of 64 teams will be announced for this season's championship. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams receive automatic qualification while the remaining 32 teams will be selected on an at-large basis by the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee.

The first and second rounds will be held on campus sites from Dec. 2-4. Regionals will take place from Dec. 9-11 also on campus sites. The national semifinal will be held Dec. 16, at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.on ESPN. The National Championship will take place Dec. 18, at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The championship will be held in Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

6. SCOUTING THE TEAMS: The Huskers are 21-16 on the season and 15-3 in Big Ten play, with losses to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State. Junior outside hitter Madi Kubik leads the team with 3.45 kills per set, followed by senior middle blocker Lauren Stivrins with 2.42 kills per set. Callie Schwarzenbak, a senior middle blocker, has a team-best 1.24 blocks per set while freshman libero Lexi Rodriquez leads the Huskers with 4.41 digs per set.

Wisconsin closes out the regular season on Saturday night when it hosts Indiana and celebrates the seniors. The Hoosiers are10-20 on the season and 4-14 in conference play. Senior outside hitter Breana Edwards leads the team with 3.35 kills per set, followed by freshman outside hitter Mady Saris with 2.43 kills per set. Savannah Kjolhede, a sophomore middle blocker, leads the Hoosiers with 0.81 blocks per set while junior libero, Paula Cerame, has a team-best 4.25 digs per set.