'I got all the emotions of being home': Former Wisconsin star Sydney Hilley relished another chance to play in Field House
MADISON – Sydney Hilley was greeted by an ovation from the fans before the match at the UW Field House on Wednesday and some jabs from her former coach after it was over.
As Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield spoke about the benefits of facing a team like Athletes Unlimited during the spring season, he added an interesting piece of insight when a certain someone entered the interview room.
“If they had a setter over there, I think they’d be scary good,” he said.
Of course it was all fun and games. Hilley was the setter for the Badgers from 2017-21, a four-time all-American and co-captain of the Badgers’ 2021 national championship team.
Wednesday, UW’s all-time assists leader was on the opposite side of the net, helping Athletes Unlimited score a 3-1 victory over the Badgers in front of 2,635 fans.
Hilley finished with 36 assists, 17 digs and three blocks in the victory.
“I was so excited about this,” she said. “Even when we were driving into Madison at 2:30 a.m. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m back in the city’ and I got all the emotions of being home. I just so excited and proud to be from this program and I was really looking forward to having the girls on the AU team experience what it’s like playing in the Field House."
The Badgers are embarking on their second season since Hilley completed her eligibility. Seven of the 15 players on the roster for the upcoming season are former teammates.
“They’re gritty ….," Hilley said of the team. "Their opposites, Anna (Smrek) and Devyn (Robinson) they are going to a force to be reckoned with this year and I’m excited to see how they grow.
“Just seeing the improvement from when I played with a lot of those girls has been cool and I’m going to continue to follow them and be a huge fan throughout the next couple of years.”
Hilley played professionally in Puerto Rico last summer before joining Athletes Unlimited this year. The exhibition tour season is a five-week excursion that took Hilley to Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville and Minnesota before she played UW on Wednesday.
She is completing the season, pulling double-duty by working remotely for her job as a manufacturing scientist with Beckman Coulter, a medical diagnostic company.
“A typical day on the tour, it almost feels like I’m in college again, it’s just school is replaced with work,” Hilley said. “Last night we played at Minnesota. We bused here, got her at 2:30 a.m., slept in, did a little work, serve and pass and match and tomorrow we leave and go to Chicago …. It’s like back-to-back-to-back playing against great opponents. I seriously feel like I’m in college. It’s fun.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Wisconsin star Sydney Hilley relished return to UW Field House
