Sydney Hilley

Personal: Sydney Hilley graduated from Wisconsin with degrees in genetics and genomics in December 2020. Sydney Hilley also earned a master's degree in applied biotechnology. Sydney Hilley currently works as a scientist for Beckman Coulter, a medical diagnostics company. Her mother, Christy, played volleyball at North Dakota State in 1986. Her father, Mike, played basketball at North Dakota State from 1986-90. Her older brother, Alex, played club volleyball at North Dakota State. Her younger sister, Sami, played volleyball at Wisconsin-River Falls. Her boyfriend, Jack, plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Sydney Hilley lists Wisconsin head volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield as a person who has made a difference in her life. Sydney Hilley played in soccer and basketball as a child in addition to volleyball. Her hobbies include reading, watching TV shows and movies, and spending time with friends and family. Sydney Hilley notes winning the national championship with Wisconsin in 2021 as her proudest achievement.

2024 Season: Sydney Hilley completed her second Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball season in 14th place with 2,506 leaderboard points. Sydney Hilley totaled 1,166 stat points along with 1,260 win points. Sydney Hilley was a two-time Match MVP selection who garnered 80 MVP points. Sydney Hilley appeared in 44 sets across all 15 matches. Sydney Hilley ranked second in the league with 462 assists while adding 10 service aces, 118 digs, and nine solo blocks. Sydney Hilley posted four double-doubles. Sydney Hilley surpassed 20 assists in 13 of 15 matches, including 30 or more assists in 11 outings. Sydney Hilley amassed 40 or more assists three times, which ranked second in the circuit behind Natalia Valentin-Anderson. Sydney Hilley boasted MVP 1 accolades and 242 leaderboard points after collecting 39 assists and three digs against Team Hentz on October 6. Sydney Hilley posted back-to-back 40-assist efforts with 10 digs to open Week Two against Team Caffey and Team Nootsara, respectively. Sydney Hilley closed Week Two with MVP 3 plaudits after tallying 31 assists, nine digs, a solo block, and 244 leaderboard points against Team De La Cruz-Mejía on October 14. Sydney Hilley pitched in 28 assists and 15 digs against Team Abercrombie on November 3. Sydney Hilley finished the season with 31 assists and a season-high 17 digs against Team Drews on November 4. Sydney Hilley posted 100 or more leaderboard points in 11 matches, including 200 or more points in six outings.

2023 Season: Hilley secured an eighth-place finish in the league standings after compiling 3,114 leaderboard points. She ranked sixth in the league with 1,474 stat points and earned Match MVP honors five times. Hilley, a three-time team captain, posted a 4-5 record and recorded the second-highest single-season total in league history after leading the circuit with 545 assists. She also had a league-high 13 matches with 30 or more assists, including four outings with 40 or more assists. Furthermore, Hilley was the Match MVP recipient in four consecutive matches from October 8-15. She secured her first career Match MVP award with MVP 2 distinction against Team Valentin-Anderson on October 8, notching 29 assists. Hilley also collected her first career double-double with 28 assists and 13 digs in an MVP 3 performance against Team Nootsara to close Week One and opened Week Two with an MVP 3 effort against Team Edmond with 41 assists. Additionally, she dished out 38 assists with four digs in an MVP 2 outing against Team Linnehan and set a season-high with 340 leaderboard points against Team Rosenthal in the Week Three finale on October 23, notching 37 assists with a season-high 23 digs. Hilley started Week Four with 44 assists and 10 digs against Team Edmond and garnered 100 or more leaderboard points in 12 out of 15 matches. She also participated in the Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Exhibition Tour.

Other Professional Experience: Sydney Hilley started her career as a practice player for VakifBank Sports Club in Istanbul before joining Manati Volleyball Club in Puerto Rico during the summer of 2022. Sydney Hilley won the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation championship with Omaha Supernovas in 2024. Sydney Hilley ranked seventh in the league by averaging 9.25 assists per set. Sydney Hilley also tallied 26 kills while appearing in 64 sets. Sydney Hilley was a member of the inaugural roster for Indy Ignite in the 2025 PVF campaign, guiding the team to the league’s championship series. Sydney Hilley finished with 1,277 assists with 44 kills, 15 service aces, 40 blocks, and 308 digs to claim league Setter of the Year distinction.

International Experience: Sydney Hilley earned a Bronze medal in her United States Women’s National Team debut at the 2023 Pan American Cup. Sydney Hilley also guided Team USA to a Gold medal at the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six. Sydney Hilley was a member of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team in addition to the 2015 Girls Youth National Team. Sydney Hilley collected a Silver medal at the 2016 NORCECA U-20 Continental Championship. Sydney Hilley also garnered a Silver medal at the 2015 FIVB U-18 World Championship.

At Wisconsin: Hilley was a five-year letter winner and four-time captain at the University of Wisconsin. She made her mark by appearing in a program-record 148 matches from 2017 to 2021, starting every match of her career to set a Wisconsin career record. Hilley accumulated an impressive school-record 6,138 career assists along with 349 blocks. Her versatility shone through as she also collected 276 kills and 1,214 digs during her collegiate career. She stands 12th on Wisconsin’s career digs list. Her accolades include being a five-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America selection, with three First-Team honors. She also garnered VolleyballMag.com All-America recognition four times. Hilley was a five-time AVCA All-Region recipient, including First-Team nods in each of her final four seasons. She was named the Big Ten Conference Setter of the Year three times (2019, 2020, 2021) and earned First-Team All-Big Ten distinction in each of her final four seasons. Her impact was felt early in her career as a member of the 2017 Big Ten All-Rookie Team. Hilley's commitment to academics was evident through her three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team honors and four-time Academic All-Big Ten recognition. She claimed the AVCA National Player of the Week notice on October 7, 2019. A significant highlight in her collegiate journey was being a member of the 2021 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team, leading the Badgers to the title. Hilley also received MVP honors in the NCAA Championship All-Regional Team in 2021. Her excellence extended to receiving the Big Ten Setter of the Week award 17 times during her career. She was the recipient of the 2021 Big Ten Medal of Honor and earned three-time Athletic Board Scholar selections. Hilley's impact on the court included setting a Wisconsin single-match rally-scoring era record with 78 assists in a four-set match against Minnesota on November 14, 2019. She also holds the Badgers’ single-match mark for assists in a five-set match with 66 assists against Maryland on September 14, 2021. Her name appears on three of the top five single-season school records during the 25-point rally-scoring era. Hilley is one of four players in program history to start 100 or more consecutive contests, having played in 378 straight sets, the fourth-highest mark in program history. She boasts 52 career double-double efforts, ranking third all-time at Wisconsin. Her contributions were further recognized with the 2021 Steve Lowe Memorial Scholarship. Notably, she played alongside AU Pro Volleyball athlete Danielle Hart at Wisconsin.