Happy Hilley homecoming with Athletes Unlimited at Wisconsin

By Zachary Schuster for VolleyballMag.com

MADISON, Wisconsin — With stops in 11 cities in less than a month, the 2023 Athletes Unlimited exhibition tour has likely felt like a bit of a whirlwind for the pro players. 

“We basically had a week of preseason training,” Sydney Hilley said, “and then it was like, ‘All right, go play the best collegiate teams in the country.’

“It’s been fun competing with some of the top colleges and seeing all the fans who are so loyal to their college teams.”

And that especially was the case last Wednesday when Hilley returned to the UW Field House, back for the first time since her team’s victory over Minnesota that propelled the Badgers to the national semifinals and on to winning the 2021 NCAA championship.

With Hilley’s return getting heavy billing, it was only fitting that fans were lined up outside the Field House for four hours on a blustery Madison spring day to get prime seats for the free match between Wisconsin and the pros.

Hilley’s reception? 

“I think a 10,” Hilley said. “I knew the Field House would give me a warm welcome because we have the best fans in the country. But even during warm-ups when I came out, they were already going nuts and cheering for me.”

Wearing the light blue of the AU team instead of her customary red and white, Hilley, a VolleyballMag.com first-team All-American in 2021, dished out 38 assists and wemt on multiple serving runs to lead her team to a 3-1 win.

“It brought back a lot of emotions because of how many times I’ve played there, and the fans have been great my entire career,” she said. “It was unreal. It was weird not wearing a Wisconsin jersey, but it was still super fun.”

Danielle Hart, Lauren Barnes and Tiffany Clark were among Hilley’s former teammates in attendance.

“The alums, they love coming back,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “They’re huge Sydney Hilley fans, as all of us are, so I think they were excited to see her play. 

“I had to turn around and give a death glare to a few of them after Sydney turned and threw a ball down and they were all screaming. I turned around, and they were like, ‘Sorry Coach.’ ”

Sheffield said that one of the goals of the Wisconsin coaching staff is to provide an…