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Wisconsin Athletics | October 23, 2018

College volleyball: Wisconsin's Dana Rettke named AVCA national player of the week

Wisconsin's return to Big 10 volleyball powerhouse

MADISON, Wis. — There has been no sophomore slump for Dana Rettke of the seventh-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team. In fact, the 6-8 middle blocker keeps getting better and better.

On Tuesday, Rettke became just the fifth Badger to be named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week. On Monday, she earned her third Big Ten Conference Player of the Week award.

The 6-8 middle blocker led the Badgers to wins over then-No. 5 Nebraska and Iowa last weekend in the UW Field House.

Against the Huskers, Rettke tied her career best with 10 blocks while adding 12 kills for her second career double-double. Versus Iowa, the Riverside, Illinois, native led all players with 17 kills while hitting .739 (17 kills – 0 errors – 23 total attempts). Her kills and hitting percentage are three-set season highs for UW.

On the weekend, Rettke averaged 3.62 kills per set while hitting .531. She also added 1.62 blocks per set while chipping in five digs over two matches to average 0.62 per set.

RANKINGS: Washington State, UCF rise; Nebraska dips in latest poll | Full rankings 

No. 7 Wisconsin (14-4, 7-3 B1G) opens up the second half of Big Ten play with a road trip to the state of Michigan this weekend. The Badgers face No. 12 Michigan (18-3, 7-3) on Friday live on the Big Ten Network. First serve is at 7 p.m. CT from Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Wisconsin travels to East Lansing on Saturday for a 6 p.m. match against Michigan State (15-8, 3-7) from Jenison Fieldhouse.

AVCA National Players of the Week

Jenny Maastricht         Oct. 30, 2000
Lizzy Fitzgerald           Sept. 25, 2000; Sept. 4, 2001
Jackie Simpson           Oct. 31, 2006
Molly Haggerty           Sept. 21, 2016
Dana Rettke                Oct. 23, 2018
 

Rettke's Career Honors

2017 AVCA First-Team All-American
2017 AVCA National Freshman of the Year
2017 VolleyballMag.com National Freshman of the Year
2017 VolleyMob.com National Freshman of the Year
2017 AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year
2017 AVCA All-Northeast Region
2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
2017 All-Big Ten Team
2017 HotelRED Invitational All-Tournament
Big Ten Player of the Week—Aug. 28, 2017 (co); Oct. 23, 2017; Oct. 22, 2018
Big Ten Freshman of the Week—Aug. 28, 2017 (co); Sept. 11, 2017 (co); Sept. 25, 2017, Oct. 4, 2017; Oct. 16, 2017 (co); Oct. 23, 2017; Oct. 30, 2017; Nov. 13, 2017; Nov. 20, 2017
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week—Oct. 5, 2015 (co); Oct. 26, 2015; Sept. 5, 2016; Sept. 19, 2016; Sept. 26, 2016; Sept. 11, 2017

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