(UWMadison) PITTSBURGH – For the first time in program history, the Wisconsin volleyball team has two first-team All-Americans.
Juniors Sydney Hilley and Dana Rettke were named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first-team All-Americans while redshirt junior Molly Haggerty earned second-team honors. Junior Grace
Loberg was selected to the honorable mention team. Four All-Americans in one season ties the second most in program history. It is also the sixth-straight season that Wisconsin has had a first team honoree.
Hilley was named a first-team All-American for the first time in her career after earning second-team honors in 2018 and honorable mention accolades in 2017. She becomes just the fourth three-time All-American in program history, joining Lauren Carlini (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), Haleigh Nelson (2014, 2015, 2016) and Tionna Williams (2015, 2016, 2017).
The 6-foot setter leads the nation with 12.18 assists per set and ranks 14th with 1,328 total assists on the season. Hilley was named the 2019 Big Ten Setter of the Year while earning her second-straight All-Big Ten award. For the third straight season, she was also named to the AVCA All-Region team.
Rettke also becomes a three-time All-American this season and joins Carlini as the only three-time, first-team All-American for the Badgers. The reigning Big Ten and AVCA Northeast Regional Player of the Year, the 6-foot-8 middle blocker leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with 1.47 blocks per set. Rettke also ranks 16th nationally in hitting percentage (.401) while ranking among the top national players in kills per set (3.76), aces per set (0.34) and points per set (4.91).
Haggerty earns her second All-America award after being named a third-team pick in 2016. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter ranks second on the Badger team with 3.54 kills per set while hitting .261, both of which are season bests.
Loberg earns her first All-American honor, ranking third on the Badgers with 3.16 kills per set while hitting .267. The 6-foot-3 outside hitter earned her first All-Big Ten distinction, ranking 12th in Big Ten-only matches with 3.26 kills per set and hitting .287, which ranked 13th in the conference.
Making its third appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals, fourth-seeded Wisconsin (26-6) takes on top-seeded Baylor (29-1) in the first national semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The match will be televised by ESPN. Third-seed Stanford (28-4) takes on No. 7 Minnesota (27-5) in the second semifinal at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT.
Semifinal winners advance to the national championship match on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT from PPG Paints Arena. That match will be televised by ESPN2.
2019 AVCA DIVISION I FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Kara Bajema#
Washington
OH
Sr.
Dani Drews^
Utah
OH
Jr.
Leah Edmond^$+
Kentucky
OH
Sr.
Jenna Gray*$
Stanford
S
Sr.
Morgan Hentz*$
Stanford
L
Sr.
Sydney Hilley^
Wisconsin
S
Jr.
Kaitlyn Hord
Penn State
MB
So.
Hannah Lockin
Baylor
S
Jr.
Regan Pittman^
Minnesota
MB
RS-Jr.
Yossiana Pressley
Baylor
OH
Jr.
Dana Rettke*$
Wisconsin
MB
Jr.
Shelly Stafford
Baylor
MB
Jr.
Jordan Thompson#
Cincinnati
OH
RS-Sr.
Micaya White^%&
Texas
OH
Sr.
2019 AVCA DIVISION I SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Kylie Deberg
Missouri
OH
Jr.
Logan Eggleston
Texas
OH
So.
Molly Haggerty+
Wisconsin
OH
RS-Jr.
Hollann Hans
Texas A&M
OH
Sr.
Magda Jehlárová
Washington State
MB
Fr.
Kenzie Koerber
Utah
RS
Jr.
Khalia Lanier$
Southern California
OH
Sr.
Madison Lilley^@
Kentucky
S
Jr.
Kayla Lund
Pittsburgh
OH
Jr.
Mac May
UCLA
OH
Jr.
Berkeley Oblad
Utah
MB
RS-Sr.
Stephanie Samedy*$
Minnesota
RS
Jr.
Lauren Stivrins*
Nebraska
MB
Jr.
Kendall White*@
Penn State
L
Sr.
2019 AVCA DIVISION I THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Gabby Blossom
Penn State
S
So.
Grace Cleveland
Purdue
RS
So.
Maia Dvoracek
Cal Poly
RS
Jr.
Audriana Fitzmorris^@
Stanford
RS
Sr.
Madeleine Gates@
Stanford
MB
Gr.
Thayer Hall
Florida
OH
So.
Alexis Hart%
Minnesota
OH
Sr.
Paige Jones
Michigan
OH
So.
Ella May Powell
Washington
S
So.
Lindsey Ruddins
UC Santa Barbara
OH
Sr.
Mikayla Shields
South Carolina
RS
Sr.
Alli Stumler
Kentucky
OH
So.
Lexi Sun
Nebraska
OH
Jr.
Brittany Witt
Creighton
L
Sr.
