Record Book
Ranks first in career hitting percentage (.375)
Ranks seventh in career blocks per set with 1.20
Ranks third in career block assists with 537
Ranks tied for fifth in career total blocks with 597
Seventh Badger in program record to reach 500 total blocks
Honors:
2016 Rainbow Wahine Invitational All-Tournament
2016 HotelRED Invitational MVP
2016 ACC/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament
2015 and 2016 All-Big Ten
2014, 2015, 2016 Academic All-Big Ten
2015 AVCA Second-Team All-American
2015 Creighton Classic MVP
2014, 2015, 2016 AVCA All-Northeast Region
2014 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
2014 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
2014 and 2015 HotelRED Invitational All-Tournament
2013 Big Ten All-Freshman
Big Ten Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, Nov. 23, 2015
Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Sept. 30, 2013
2016: Started all 33 matches and played in all 122 sets ... ranked third on the team with 2.51 kills per set ... recorded 14 kills at Hawaii (Aug. 26) ... added eight kills vs. Arizona (Aug. 27) and nine kills vs. Kansas State (Aug. 28) ... chipped in eight kills against Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Sept. 4), while hitting a career best .800 (8-0-10) ... had seven blocks against San Diego (Sept. 2) and five blocks against Texas A&M CC ... tied her season-high 14 kills at North Carolina, adding a career-high eight digs, and seven blocks (Sept. 9) ... recorded a season-high three aces at Texas, adding seven kills and seven blocks (Sept. 18) ... put away 11 kills, adding two digs and five blocks, against Maryland (Sept. 24) ... tied her season-high three aces at Indiana, adding six kills (Oct. 1) ... equalled her season high with three aces against Illinois, adding 12 kills, two assists and seven digs (Oct. 8) ... tied her career-high four service aces, three of which came in consecutive serves, at Iowa, while adding five blocks (Oct. 22) ... hit eight kills against Rutgers, reaching the 1,000-career kill milestone (Oct. 30) ... tied her season-high seven blocks against Michigan (Nov. 18) ... tied her season-high 7 blocks and comitted no attack errors in back-to-back matches against Howard (Dec. 1) and Washington State (Dec. 2) ... ranked second on the squad with 1.12 blocks per set ... added 0.87 digs per set ... finished second on the team with 33 service aces, averaging 0.27 per set.
2015: Started all 33 matches and played in all 117 sets ... ranked third on the team with 2.62 kills per set ... set a career high with 18 kills vs. Arkansas (Sept. 19) and at Illinois (Nov. 18) ... led the team in kills in five matches ... led the team and ranked second in the Big Ten with a hitting percentage of .422 ... led the Big Ten with a .432 hitting percentage in conference-only matches ... ranked second on the team and seventh in the Big Ten with 1.23 blocks per set ... had a season high eight blocks at Nebraska (Oct. 24) and at Michigan (Nov. 11) ... set a new career high with three block solos vs. Michigan State (Nov. 8) ... led the team in blocks in 16 matches ... set a new career high with four service aces vs. Kent State (Sept. 11) and at Iowa (Oct. 23) ... has a team-best 31 service aces (.26/set) ... has led the team in aces in 10 matches ... recorded a season-high five digs at Iowa
2014: Played in 34 matches, starting 33, and 114 sets ... led the team with a .359 hitting percentage, which ranked second in the Big Ten and 54th nationally ... ranked fifth on the team with 2.28 kills per set ... had double-figure kills in eight matches ... tied her career high with 16 kills at Michigan (Nov. 7) ... led the team in kills in four matches ... had a career-high two assists at Rutgers (Nov. 26) ... ranked fourth on the team with 18 service aces (0.16/set) after not serving at all as a freshman ... had a career-high three aces vs. Miami (Sept. 12) ... led the team in aces in five matches ... added 0.68 digs per set ... had a career-high six digs at Colorado State (Sept. 6) and vs. Ohio State (Dec. 12) ... led the team with 1.33 blocks per set, which ranked third in the Big Ten and 31st nationally ... led the team in blocks in 19 matches
2013: Started 37 of 38 matches and played in 145 of 146 sets ... finished second on the team in hitting percentage at .318, which was tied for ninth in the Big Ten ... led the team with 1.13 blocks per set, which ranked seventh in the Big Ten ... tallied career bests of 16 kills at Michigan (Nov. 23) and 10 blocks at Nebraska (Oct. 5) ... had 14 kills vs. Minnesota (Nov. 27) ... collected nine blocks to lead the team in the NCAA National Championship game vs. Penn State (Dec. 21) ... hit a career-best .727 (8-0-11) at NDSU (Sept. 7) ... averaged 1.74 kills per set ... had double-figure kills in seven matches, including the last three regular season matches ... recorded a careerbest three digs at NDSU (Sept. 7) ... put up three-or-more blocks in 30 matches and five-or-more in 17 matches ... hit over .300 in 23 matches and .400-or-more in 12 matches
High school: AVCA Under Armour All-America first team ... guided Cardinal Gibbons High School to four-straight 3A state championships ... named state tournament most valuable player honors as a senior ... named the 2012 Carolina 6 Conference Player of the Year ... three-time all-conference selection ... also plays with Triangle Volleyball Club ... named the 2011 winner of the Triangle Award for leadership ... named a top-10 star at the 2012 Lone Star Classic ... earned all-tournament honors at the Carolina Region championship ... an excellent student with a 4.25 grade point average ... member of the National Honor Society
Personal: Parents are Harold and Suzette Nelson, and Vanessa Nelson ... has one sister, Hannah (16) ... born April 6 ... nickname is Nelly ... advertising chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and member of the Coordinated Leadership Initiative (CLI) ... also volunteers with Badgers Give Back ... major is business: marketing/risk management and insurance
Why Wisconsin?
"Because it's the world's best university"
Career Highs
Kills: 18 (2x; MR at Illinois, 11-18-15)
Attempts: 36 at Illinois, 11-18-15
Hitting Percentage: .800 (8-0-10) vs. Texas A&M Corpus Cristi, 9-4-16
Assists: 2 (4x; MR vs. Rutgers, 10-30-16)
Service Aces: 4 (3x; MR at Iowa, 10-21-16)
Digs: 8 at North Carolina, 9-9-16
Blocks: 10 at Nebraska, 10-5-13
Points: 23.5 vs. Arkansas, 9-19-15
Off the Court with Haleigh
Favorites - Spot on campus: Terrace; Cartoon Character: Kevin from UP; Movie: 21 Jump Street; Celebrity: Jim Halpert; Food: Chicken pot pie; TV Show: The Office; Car: Mine! 2008 Honda Accord; Athlete: Apollo Ohno; Ice Cream Flavor: Coffee with chocolate chips; Volleyball Player: Kerri Walsh-Jennings; Sports team: any and all Badgers
First started volleyball: Seventh grade
Most memorable volleyball match: 2013 National Semifinal vs Texas
My favorite thing about Wisconsin volleyball is: my teammates
Before each match, I: eat a PB&J sandwich
What do you do during the national anthem? Sing it
Best UW road trip: Seattle for the final four
Favorite place to play (besides the Field House): Nebraska
One word that describes the team: family
One word that describes me: punny
My teammates say I: have selective hearing
Favorite thing to do off the court with my teammates is: go to the lake
Most memorable volleyball achievement: winning the 2014 Big Ten title outright
Is there something significant about your uniform number? It’s the luckiest
The best thing about the Field House is: the fans
If I could change one volleyball rule, it would be: no instant replay
If I was Coach Sheffield for the day, I would: play Haleigh Nelson all six rotations
Dream as a collegiate player: win a national championship
Post-college plans/goals: Find a career, not a job
The best thing about Madison is: the people
Fantasy job/career: ESPN Broadcaster
Persons most admired/role models: My grandmother and my parents
I can’t live without: Lululemon
My secret addiction is: thin mint Girl Scout cookies
Weird thing about me that almost no one knows: there are many weird things and everyone knows them
Nobody knows how much I love to: shop
Greatest Invention of the last 100 years: online shopping
If I could live any place in the world it would be: Charleston, South Carolina
A non-athletic talent I have: word searches
I wish I could: play the piano
If you could trade places for a day with a person, who would it be and why? Bethany Hamilton so I could shred wakes and walk around knowing I survived a shark attack
If I had a million dollars, I would: spend it
How would you like to change the world? I want to be someone who makes others around me better
My bucket list includes: go skydiving (totally original), learn how to ski, go rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, go watch the Olympics
What are you most thankful for? my friends and family
What are you passionate about? chasing happiness
The best advice I have ever gotten is: “All you have to do is get one percent better every day.”
If you could perform in a circus, what would you do? Trapeze
Biggest pet peeve: people that bite their forks when they eat
What would be your theme song? “Good To Be Alive” by Andy Grammar
If you had a magic lamp and a genie who granted you three wishes, what would the three wishes be? Lifetime supply of chocolate-covered strawberries, free nail care and the perfect dog
What does it mean to be a Badger?
"Being a Badger means working harder than anyone else for your dreams."
