MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin volleyball head coach Kelly Sheffield was named the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, the conference announced on Wednesday. In addition, Sarah Franklin, Danielle Hart, and Devyn Robinson were unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten first team while Julia Orzol was named to the second team.
Sheffield earns his third Big Ten Coach of the Year honor also getting recognized in 2014 and 2019. He led the Badgers to the 2022 Big Ten Championship, their fourth consecutive and his fifth overall. UW is only the second Big Ten school to win four-straight titles while Sheffield ties for second among all Big Ten coaches for most championships won.
In his 10th year at Wisconsin, Sheffield is 259-56, having advanced to at least the Sweet 16 round of play in the NCAA tournament for nine straight years. The Badgers have made four appearances in the NCAA final four, winning the program’s first national championship in 2021.
Franklin, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter, earns her second-straight first-team All-Big Ten honor after being recognized last season while at Michigan State. She leads the Badgers and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 3.55 kills per set. The Lake Worth, Florida, native has double-figure kills in a team-best 20 matches, including three matches with 20-plus kills. She is hitting a season-best .227, recording a career-high hitting percentage of .750 (9-0-12) vs. Rhode Island on Sept. 18. A six-rotation player, Franklin adds 1.80 digs per set and has four double-doubles this season.
A 6-foot-4 middle blocker, Hart earns her initial first-team All-Big Ten honor after earning second-team honors in 2019 and 2020. She ranks sixth in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten with 1.53 blocks per set. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Hart leads the team with a .443 hitting percentage, which ranks second in the Big Ten. She adds 1.85 kills per set, tallying double-figure kills in five matches.
From Ankeny, Iowa, Robinson earns her third-straight All-Big Ten honor, being named to the first team in 2020 and the second team in 2021. The 6-foot-3 right-side hitter ranks second on the team with 2.63 kills per set while ranking third on the team with a .303 hitting percentage. Robinson has double-figure kills in 13 matches and adds 1.07 blocks per set for fourth on the team.
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