Wisconsin volleyball: Dana Rettke and Sydney Hilley win B1G awards

Since the regular season ended this past weekend and the NCAA Tournament is starting this coming weekend, the B1G had some time on their hands to award several players for their outstanding seasons. Obviously, the B1G Champion Wisconsin Badgers were on the receiving end of multiple conference awards.

Dana Rettke was named B1G Player of the Year, Sydney Hilley was named B1G Setter of the Year and head coach Kelly Sheffield was named B1G Coach of the Year by the media, who somehow didn’t give B5Q a vote.

Here is what the B1G press release had to say about each of Wisconsin’s award winners:

Rettke, a unanimous All-Big Ten selection, ranks fifth in the Big Ten in kills per set with 3.77 and third in the conference with a .402 hitting percentage. The Riverside, Ill., native also averages 1.40 blocks per set, good for second in the Big Ten. The junior leads the nation in hitting percentage for active career leaders with .423 and ranks third in active career blocks per set with 1.44. The Academic All-Big Ten honoree earned Big Ten Player of the Week recognition four times this season and led Wisconsin to its sixth Big Ten title, the first since 2014, finishing the conference season with an 18-2 record. Rettke is the fifth student in Wisconsin history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year. Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini earned the honor in 2014.

Hilley, a unanimous All-Big Ten selection, averaged 12.42 assists per set during Big Ten play, while leading the Badgers to a .300 team hitting percentage in the conference season. The Academic All-Big Ten honoree was named Big Ten Setter of the Week six times this season. This is Wisconsin’s third Setter of the Year award since the plaudit’s inception in 2012 and the first since Carlini claimed the honor in 2014 and 2015.

Sheffield garners Coach of the Year honors via the media contingent for the second time at Wisconsin. Under his leadership, the Badgers finished 22-6 overall with an 18-2 Big Ten record claiming Wisconsin’s sixth Big Ten title and the second under his tutelage. The honor marks Wisconsin’s sixth Coach of the Year honor awarded by the media.

There were six Badgers that made the two all-conference teams and M.E. Dodge received the Sportsmanship award for the Badgers. Hilley and Rettke were both unanimous selections. It should also be noted, that of these six players, only Madiso Duello graduates. That is as great for Wisconsin as it is terrible for the rest of the conference.

The Badgers play the Illinois State Redbirds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, December 6 at 7 p.m. CT.