Honors:
• 2017 K-State Invitational MVP
• 2014 Big Ten All-Freshman Team
• Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week- Nov. 14, 2016 (co)
• Big Ten Player of the Week- Nov. 16, 2015 (co)
• Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week- Nov. 24, 2014
• 2017 K-State Invitational MVP
Of Note: Competed on the 2015 Big Ten Conference All-Star team on a tour of Europe ... sister Kara played volleyball for two years at Maryland before transferring to Ball State where she was a 2011 and 2012 All-Mid-American Conference pick ... brother played football at Illinois State and Olivet Nazarene, and basketball at several junior colleges ... father played basketball at Florida State and Vanderbilt ... recorded her 1,000th career dig against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 2016
2017: Started all 32 matches and played in 113 sets ... averaged 2.97 points/set, 2.61 kills/set, 2.64 digs/set and 0.41 blocks/set ... collected six kills and five digs against Louisville (Aug. 25) ... recorded nine kills and seven digs against North Carolina (Aug. 26) ... had 12 kills and six digs vs. Syracuse (Sept. 1) ... hit a career-high .500 (15-2-26) vs. Arkansas (Sept. 1) ... recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs at Kansas State (Sept. 2) en route to being named K-State Invitational MVP ... had 13 digs and six kills against Lipscomb (Sept. 7) ... collected nine digs, six kills, three blocks and an ace against Texas A&M (Sept. 9) ... earned her second double-double of the season with a team-high 17 kills and 10 digs against Marquette (Sept. 14) ... had nine kills against Southern Miss (Sept. 16) ... recorded a dobule-double against Michigan State (Sept. 22) with 14 kills and 12 digs ... recorded a match-high 12 kills with seven digs, three blocks and two assists against Michigan (Sept. 24) ... had eight digs and six kills at Iowa (Sept. 29) ... led the team with a season-high 20 kills and 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the year at Nebraska (Sept. 30) ... collected 13 kills and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season vs. Minnesota (Oct. 4) ... earned 14 digs and seven kills at Michigan State (Oct. 7) ... matched her career high with five assists against Nebraska (Oct. 11) ... had six kills, three digs, and a service ace against Indiana (Oct. 13) ... recorded eight kills, four digs, a block and an assist at Maryland (Oct. 18) ... notched nine digs, seven kills, three blocks, two assists and an ace at Minnesota (Oct. 21) ... earned 15 digs, six kills and three blocks at Penn State (Oct. 25) ... collected eight digs, five blocks, five digs and two assists against Northwestern (Oct. 28) ... recorded her 1,000th career kill and had 12 kills and 15 digs against Ohio State (Nov. 3) ... had 10 digs against Maryland (Nov. 4) ... notched eight digs at Indiana (Nov. 10) ... earned 10 digs at Purdue (Nov. 11) ... notched another double-double with 14 digs and 11 kills at Illinois (Nov. 17) ... recorded eight digs, seven kills, four assists and two blocks at Northwestern (Nov. 19) ... collected 12 digs and 11 kills for her eighth double-double of the year against Penn State (Nov. 24) ... had nine digs, seven kills, four assists and a block against Rutgers (Nov. 25) ... earned a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs against Marquette (Dec. 1) ... notched a season-high 17 digs at Iowa State (Dec. 2) ... recorded eight kills at Stanford (Dec. 8)
2016: Played in all 33 matches, starting 12 ... played 21 matches at libero and 12 matches at outside hitter ... played libero for the first time in her career in season opener at Hawaii, recording a then-career-high 22 digs (Aug. 26) ... collected 20 digs vs. Arizona for her second-consecutive match with 20-plus saves (Aug. 27) ... led the Badgers with 12 digs vs. Kansas State (Aug. 28) ... recorded a career-high seven blocks and added 20 digs against North Carolina (Sept. 9) ... recorded 10 kills against Louisville (Sept. 10) ... recorded five assists, tying a career-best, along with one ace and 14 digs at Texas A&M (Sept. 16) ... hit a season-high 15 kills (15-7-38) at Texas (Sept. 18) ... served a career-high four aces and tied her career high of seven blocks against Ohio State (Sept. 23) ... also added nine kills and 12 digs against the Buckeyes ... hit 10 kills against both Purdue (Sept. 30) and Indiana (Oct. 1) ... saved a then-career-high 24 digs at Michigan (Oct. 15) ... served up three aces at Iowa (Oct. 22) ... hit 11 kills and added 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the year against Rutgers (Oct. 30) ... saved a career-high 29 digs at Northwestern, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts (Nov. 12) ... tied her career-high five assists at Minnesota, adding 22 digs to earn her 1,000th career dig during the match (Nov. 26) ... tied her career-high five assists against Howard, adding two aces (Dec. 1) ... tied her career-high four aces against Stanford (Dec. 10) ... ranked ninth in the Big Ten with 3.98 digs per set ... averaged 0.18 aces per set.
2015: Started all 33 matches and played in all 117 sets ... ranked second on team with 3.13 kills per set ... had double-figure kills in 18 matches, setting a career high with 21 vs. Florida (Dec. 11) and adding 17 kills vs. Minnesota (Oct. 14) and vs. Purdue (Oct. 30) ... led the team in kills in 15 matches ... had 11 double-doubles ... had a season-high 18 digs vs. Oregon (Dec. 3) and added 16 digs vs. Illinois (Sept. 30) ... added 2.72 digs per set to rank third on the team ... has 18 service aces on the season, averaging 0.15 per set ... tied a career high with two aces vs. Georgia (Sept. 10), vs. Michigan (Nov. 6) and at Illinois (Nov. 18) ... also added 0.56 blocks per set ... tied her career high with five blocks at Michigan (Nov. 11)
2014: Played in all 34 matches, starting 29, and all 116 sets ... led the team with 2.85 kills per set (331 total) ... record double-figure kills in a team-best 19 matches ... had a career-high 17 kills vs. Illinois (Nov. 19) ... hit .201 on the season ... hit a career-best .500 (11-1-20) vs. Rutgers (Oct. 10) ... added 0.26 assists per set ... had a career-high five assists at Colorado State (Sept. 6) ... had eight service aces on the year (0.07/set) ... had a career-high two aces at Iowa (Nov. 15) ... ranked third on the team with 2.30 digs per set ... had double-figure digs in 11 matches ... had a career-high 19 digs vs. USC (Sept. 18) ... had seven double-doubles on the season ... added 0.59 blocks per set (68 total) ... had a career-high five blocks at Illinois (Oct. 10) ... had a career-high 19.5 points vs. Illinois (Nov. 19)
High School: 2013
Volleyball Fab 50 ... ranked No. 63 on PrepVolleyball's list of Senior Aces ... 2013 AVCA Under Armour honorable mention All-American ... was named an AVCA Player of the Week as a freshman ... 2012 and 2013
Kankakee Daily Journal Player of the Year ... wrapped up her high school career as the school record holder for career kills with 1,160 and career digs with 962 ... averaged 4.02 kills, 3.66 digs, 0.56 aces and 0.58 blocks per set while hitting .426 as a senior ... led the Boilermakers to a 29-7 record 2013, defending their All-City title and winning the Red Division of the South West Suburban Conference for the first time in school history ... three-time Southwest Suburban all-conference selection ... four-time all-area pick ... four-time most valuable player for the Boilermakers ... also played with the Chicago Ultimate Volleyball Club ... earned All-America honors in 2011, leading her team to a third-place finish at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships ... her team finished ninth at the 2012 AAU National Championships and 13th in the USA Volleyball Championships
Personal: Parents are Katie and Don Bates ... has one brother Andy (30) and one sister Kara (26) ... born March 22 ... major is life sciences communication ... nicknames are Bates and Batesy
Why Wisconsin?
"I chose Wisconsin because of the tradition, culture, and competitive academics and athletics. I wanted to play with and compete against the best."
Match Highs
Kills: 21 vs. Florida, 12-11-15
Attacks: 54 vs. Minnesota, 10-14-15
Attack pct: .643 (10-1-14) at Indiana, 10-1-16
Assists: 5 (5x; MR vs. Nebraska, 10-11-17)
Serve aces: 4 vs. Ohio State, 9-23-16
Digs: 29 at Northwestern, 11-12-16
Blocks: 7 (2x; MR vs. Ohio State, 9-23-16)
Points: 22.5 vs. Florida, 12-11-15
Double-doubles: 31
Off the Court with Kelli Bates
Favorites - Spot on campus: The Terrace; Cartoon Character: Daffy Duck; Movie: Elf; Celebrity: Kerry Washington; Food: Nutella; TV Show: Scandal; Book: How Champions Think; Car: Audi; Athlete: Steph Curry; Ice Cream Flavor: Peanut Butter chocolate; Volleyball Player: Haleigh Nelson; Sports team: Wisconsin Badgers!
First started volleyball: eight years old
Most memorable volleyball match: Beating Ohio State in Sweet Sixteen 2016
My favorite thing about Wisconsin volleyball is: My teammates, coaches, the opportunities to compete, the fans, the Field House, anything you can think of is my favorite
Before each match, I: Dance with teammates, eat energy gummies, put on deodorant!
What do you do during the national anthem? Right hand over heart, left arm by my side, and I sway
Best UW road trip: The Hawaii trip!!
Favorite place to play (besides the Field House): Nebraska
One word that describes the team: AWESOME
One word that describes me: Awesome
My teammates say I am: Awesome
Favorite thing to do off the court with my teammates is: Go to the Terrace and play cards
Most memorable volleyball achievement: Being able to set 15 out of system balls in a row. (45 minutes later)
Is there something significant about your uniform number? No significance but it is now my favorite number!
The best thing about the Field House is: The vibe of game days, the energy feels amped up and I still get goose bumps
If I could change one volleyball rule, it would be: let liberos hit in the front row
If I was Coach Sheffield for the day, I would: take the team to Lululemon
What is your favorite Coach Sheffield saying? “I AM THE TERMINATOR!”
This summer, I: took classes, visited North Carolina on a family vacation, went to Summerfest, worked out everyday
My “Bucky” List is: nominate one of my teammates to go on stage at the UW terrace
Dream as a collegiate player: Win a national championship
Post-college plans/goals: Open to any opportunity
The best thing about Madison is: The community, the people, the campus, our advisors, everything. I couldn’t ask for anything more out of a University
Fantasy job/career: PE teacher
Person most admired/role model: My dad
I can’t live without: Volleyball and Lululemon!!
My secret addiction is: cracking my neck
Weird thing about me that almost no one knows: I can only crack my back one way (turning my left, sometimes you can see me on the court twisting only one way)
Nobody knows how much I love to: SHOP
Greatest Invention of the last 100 years: ZzzQuil
If I could live any place in the world it would be: California
A non-athletic talent I have is: I give good hugs
Non-athletic talent I would like to have is: Be better at cooking
If you could trade places for a day with a person, who would it be and why? My dog, she lives such an awesome life. She plays with our other neighborhood dogs, eats, sleeps, smiles.
If I had a million dollars, I would: Go to Lulu, give some to my parents, donate
How would you like to change the world? I would like to motivate people to take chances and learn from mistakes and grow to become better people
My bucket list includes: Skydiving, snorkel
What are you most thankful for? My family, my UW family, my teammates and best friends
What are you passionate about? Volleyball!!
My favorite saying or a phrase I use all the time is: Who wants to go to Lulu with me?
The best advice I have ever gotten is: Never give up
If you could perform in a circus, what would you do? Acrobatics
Biggest pet peeve: People who don’t push in their chair when they leave a restaurant
What would be your theme song? “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor
If you had a magic lamp and a genie who granted you three wishes, what would the three wishes be?
The opportunity to travel (safely) anywhere in the world, help make any person I encounter feel good about themselves, lifetime of happiness
What does it mean to be a Badger?
"Being a Badger means you were the “W” with pride, you represent yourself, your program, and the University in the best manner, and you do your best to max out potential in as many areas as you can."
