Wisconsin's Kelly Sheffield named Big Ten volleyball coach of the year; four players honored

Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield was named Big Ten coach of the year Wednesday. He also won the award in 2014 and '19.
Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield was named Big Ten coach of the year Wednesday. He also won the award in 2014 and '19.
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MADISON – For the third time in his career, Kelly Sheffield has been named the Big Ten volleyball coach of the year.

The Badgers coach received the honor in separate votes from the conference coaches and media. He also received the honor in 2014 (coaches, media) and 2019 (media) and was joined on the all-conference team by four players. Senior Danielle Hart, junior Devyn Robinson and sophomore Sarah Franklin were first team picks. Sophomore Julia Orzol made the second team.

The honor for Sheffield comes in a season when he had to replace national player of the year Dana Rettke and three other seniors who were All-Americans at some point in their careers.

“We graduated big players like Rettke, (Sidney) Hilley and (Lauren) Barnes," Robinson said. "They were such great players because he coached them the way they needed to be coached and we’re doing so well this year because he knows what this team needs. That’s a big part of it.”

Sheffield, who has a 259-56 record in 10 season at Wisconsin, put together a successful season by developing returning players such as Robinson and Hart, who stepped into larger roles. This year’s roster featured four transfers, three of whom played key roles: Franklin, middle blocker Caroline Crawford and defensive specialist Shanel Branschreiber.

The result was fourth straight Big Ten championship, an 18-match winning streak and a No. 3 overall seed for the NCAA tournament.

Wisconsin enters the tournament with a 25-3 record.

“A big part of why people want to play at Wisconsin and why we want to play at Wisconsin is this culture of competing and wanting to win and wanting to play together and be part of something so much bigger than yourself,” senior setter Izzy Ashburn said. “I think that culture ultimately starts with what he gives us and the way he speaks to us.”

Each of UW’s first-team player selections were unanimous picks. The players selections were done only by the coaches.

Franklin, an outside hitter who was a first-team pick at Michigan State last season, is a six-rotation player who has started every match and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 3.55 kills per set. She has a team-best 20 matches with double-digit kills.

Hart received second-team distinction in 2019 and ’20. Last year she missed most of the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. She was better than ever this season, ranking sixth in the nation with 1.53 blocks while leading the Big Ten with a .443 hitting percentage.

Robinson was a second-team all-Big Ten pick last season. This year she ranked second on the team 2.63 kills per set and third with a .303 hitting percentage.

Orzol was the conference freshman of the year last season. This year she played all six rotations and ranked third on the team with 2.62 kills per set.

Sheffield chalked up the honor he and his players received to the team's success.

“It’s been a pretty successful season up to this point and some players are recognized for that and some other players aren’t recognized for that,” Sheffield said, “But I think everyone here knows we’re getting great effort across the board from every player every single day that allows there to be team success and some individuals that pick up some awards.

“I can tell you this, there aren’t any of our players who have come here for awards. That’s not why they’re here. They’re here for things that are bigger than that.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's Kelly Sheffield named Big Ten volleyball coach of the year