Booth, Simon garner Volleyball awards
January 17, 2026 | Volleyball
UW announces Bring It! and Most Improved honors
MADISON, Wis. - The 2025 Wisconsin volleyball team celebrated their annual program banquet at Union South on Saturday, presenting the winners of the Bring It! and Most Improved Awards.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield announced that senior Carter Booth was named the Bring It! Award winner, while freshman Kristen Simon notched the Most Improved Award to wrap up the 2025 season.Â
The Bring It! Award is the highest award given by the team. It is presented to the player that consistently shows up to play and practice each and every day. She is an athlete that is consistently practicing on her competitive edge, shows tremendous leadership in times of success and adversity, and is a player that is always supporting teammates in order to build a positive system and community.
Booth matched that sentiment throughout the entirety of her final season as a Badger, guiding UW to their seventh National Semifinal appearance in program history.Â
The co-captain was one of the most productive offensive athletes in the country by the season's conclusion, finishing with a .466 (245 - 34 - 453) hitting percentage, good for second in the nation. That mark went on to shatter a program record for highest hitting percentage in a single season, surpassing former UW great Dana Rettke. Booth garnered AVCA Third Team All-American, All-Region North First Team and First Team All-Big Ten honors for her overall play, contributing a team-high 129.0 blocks from the front row, too.Â
The Denver, Colorado, native went on a tear during the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a career-best showing in the National Semifinals against No. 1 Kentucky. Booth turned in a career-high 21 kills on 30 attempts, ending the evening with only one hitting error.Â
During the NCAA Regionals, Booth combined for 25 kills in Austin, Texas, to help power the Badgers to the National Semifinals. The senior assisted UW in breaking their program record for highest hitting percentage in a single season, as the unit concluded the 2025 season at .327.Â
Booth is now a part of the Unione Yamamay Busto Arisizio of the Italian Serie A1 League to begin her professional career.Â
At the libero position, Simon entered the program with big shoes to fill from the back row, and exceeded those expectations by the season's conclusion. The true freshman was a key defender and passer throughout the entirety of the year, playing in every match except for one in her first season as a Badger.
Simon went on to enjoy a noteworthy season, starting it off with a double-double against Kansas at the Kohl Center, where she accumulated 23 digs and 10 assists in a five-set thriller. The Louisville, Kentucky, native put together a strong stretch midway through the 2025 campaign of consecutive matches with double-digit dig totals, racking up 13 in a row. That streak tied for the eighth-longest in program history, as all of those performances came against Big Ten foes.Â
The libero finished with the fourth-most digs accumulated by a freshman in UW history with 376—surpassing current UW assistant coach Lauren Carlini, who had 372 in her first collegiate season. Simon ranked within the top-10 in the Big Ten for most digs per set as well, earning 3.48 in 108 sets of action.  Â
The Badgers finished the season with a 28-5 overall record, advancing to the National Semifinals for the seventh time in program history. UW ended the year in second place in the Big Ten with a conference record of 17-3. They concluded the season ranked No. 5 in the AVCA Poll, finishing in the top-10 for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield announced that senior Carter Booth was named the Bring It! Award winner, while freshman Kristen Simon notched the Most Improved Award to wrap up the 2025 season.Â
The Bring It! Award is the highest award given by the team. It is presented to the player that consistently shows up to play and practice each and every day. She is an athlete that is consistently practicing on her competitive edge, shows tremendous leadership in times of success and adversity, and is a player that is always supporting teammates in order to build a positive system and community.
Booth matched that sentiment throughout the entirety of her final season as a Badger, guiding UW to their seventh National Semifinal appearance in program history.Â
The co-captain was one of the most productive offensive athletes in the country by the season's conclusion, finishing with a .466 (245 - 34 - 453) hitting percentage, good for second in the nation. That mark went on to shatter a program record for highest hitting percentage in a single season, surpassing former UW great Dana Rettke. Booth garnered AVCA Third Team All-American, All-Region North First Team and First Team All-Big Ten honors for her overall play, contributing a team-high 129.0 blocks from the front row, too.Â
The Denver, Colorado, native went on a tear during the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a career-best showing in the National Semifinals against No. 1 Kentucky. Booth turned in a career-high 21 kills on 30 attempts, ending the evening with only one hitting error.Â
During the NCAA Regionals, Booth combined for 25 kills in Austin, Texas, to help power the Badgers to the National Semifinals. The senior assisted UW in breaking their program record for highest hitting percentage in a single season, as the unit concluded the 2025 season at .327.Â
Booth is now a part of the Unione Yamamay Busto Arisizio of the Italian Serie A1 League to begin her professional career.Â
At the libero position, Simon entered the program with big shoes to fill from the back row, and exceeded those expectations by the season's conclusion. The true freshman was a key defender and passer throughout the entirety of the year, playing in every match except for one in her first season as a Badger.
Simon went on to enjoy a noteworthy season, starting it off with a double-double against Kansas at the Kohl Center, where she accumulated 23 digs and 10 assists in a five-set thriller. The Louisville, Kentucky, native put together a strong stretch midway through the 2025 campaign of consecutive matches with double-digit dig totals, racking up 13 in a row. That streak tied for the eighth-longest in program history, as all of those performances came against Big Ten foes.Â
The libero finished with the fourth-most digs accumulated by a freshman in UW history with 376—surpassing current UW assistant coach Lauren Carlini, who had 372 in her first collegiate season. Simon ranked within the top-10 in the Big Ten for most digs per set as well, earning 3.48 in 108 sets of action.  Â
The Badgers finished the season with a 28-5 overall record, advancing to the National Semifinals for the seventh time in program history. UW ended the year in second place in the Big Ten with a conference record of 17-3. They concluded the season ranked No. 5 in the AVCA Poll, finishing in the top-10 for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons.
Players Mentioned
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