CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After a dominating performance at the net during the opening weekend of the 2020-21 spring season, sophomore Rylee Hinton was named Big Ten Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday (Jan. 25).

This marks the first weekly conference honor Illinois volleyball has received this season and the first-career honor for Hinton.

Hinton helped lead the Illini to a 2-0 start to the season after back-to-back 3-1 road wins over Iowa last weekend. The middle blocker led all players in the Big Ten with 16 blocks in the two matches for a 2.00 blocks per set average and added 12 kills as the Illini held the Hawkeyes to a .097 hitting percentage in the series.  

The Champaign, Ill., native opened her season by equaling her career-high with eight blocks in both matches, while adding seven kills on Friday afternoon and five kills on a .400 hitting percentage in Saturday's match.

Hinton and the Illini are set to return to Huff Hall to open their home schedule this weekend against No. 1 Wisconsin. The Illini and the Badgers will open their two-match series on Friday (Jan. 29) at 3 p.m. CT, before an 11 a.m. CT contest airing on Big Ten Network on Saturday (Jan. 30).

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