Sydney Hilley

Personal: Hilley's dedication to both academics and athletics is evident as she graduated from Wisconsin with degrees in genetics and genomics in December 2020. She continued her educational journey by earning a master's degree in applied biotechnology. Sporting talent runs in her family, with her mother, Christy, having played volleyball at North Dakota State in 1986, and her father, Mike, having played basketball at North Dakota State from 1986 to 1990. Her older brother, Alex, contributed to the family's athletic legacy by playing club volleyball at North Dakota State. The tradition continues with her younger sister, Sami, who is a junior on the volleyball team at Wisconsin-River Falls. Beyond volleyball, Hilley has a dog named Zena and enjoys a variety of hobbies, including reading, watching TV shows and movies, and spending quality time with friends and family. She chose to wear No. 8 as a tribute to her mother, who also donned that jersey number during her volleyball career. Sydney Hilley recognizes Wisconsin head volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield as a person who has made a significant difference in her life. If not for her volleyball career, Hilley aspires to be a scientist. Her childhood interests spanned multiple sports, including soccer and basketball, in addition to volleyball.

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: Hilley embarked on her professional career as a practice player for VakifBank Sports Club in Istanbul before joining the Manati Volleyball Club in Puerto Rico during the summer of 2022.

International Experience: Sydney Hilley has a remarkable international resume. She earned a Bronze medal in her debut with the United States Women’s National Team at the 2023 Pan American Cup. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in guiding Team USA to a Gold medal at the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six. Her journey with USA Volleyball dates back to her time as a member of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team and the 2015 Girls Youth National Team. During her junior career, she collected a Silver medal at the 2016 NORCECA U-20 Continental Championship and another Silver medal at the 2015 FIVB U-18 World Championship.

At Wisconsin: Hilley had a stellar college career as 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 current Athletes Unlimited Volleyball athlete Danielle Hart at Wisconsin.