Badgers’ Colyer named outside hitter of the year

(UW ATHLETICS) KANSAS CITY, MO – Senior standout Mimi Colyer was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Outside Hitter of the Year on Friday morning, fresh off of leading the Wisconsin volleyball team to their seventh appearance in the NCAA Championships and a 28-5 overall record. 

Colyer was nearly automatic on the offensive end throughout the entirety of the season, accumulating double-digit kill totals in every match aside from one. She averaged 5.44 kills per set and 5.99 points per set, both of which rate as the highest in program history. 

The four-time All-American was stellar down the stretch for the Badgers in their NCAA Tournament run, turning in a total of 50 kills in two matches en route to earning the Austin Regional Tournament MVP award. In her final collegiate match in the NCAA National Semifinal, Colyer tallied a career-best 32 kills against No. 1 Kentucky on a .348 hitting percentage. Prior to her postseason excellence, the 6-foot-3 attacker was named Big Ten Player of the Week five separate times during the regular season. With her strong finish, Colyer ranked second in kills per set and third in points per set in the country. 

Colyer was efficient in her production as well, concluding the season with a .340 swing percentage. The outside hitter racked up the most kills in UW history with 598, leading the Badgers to their highest hitting percentage in the Rallying Scoring Era (since 2008) at .327. 

Colyer was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Volleyball Draft a couple of weeks ago, as she will take her talents to Texas to play for the Dallas Pulse next season.