No. 30 — Lisa Boyd, Volleyball
Wisconsin volleyball has been on an upswing as of late, but it might never have gotten to this point without one person and one group setting the example. That person happens to be trailblazer Lisa Boyd.
Just how much of a trailblazer was Boyd for this program? She was the first player to ever win All-American honors in a Badger uniform, for a program that his been around since 1974. Boyd’s final season in the Cardinal and White may have been one of the best ever by a Badger to date.
She earned 1990 Big Ten Player of the Year, Wisconsin Female Athlete of the Year and 2nd team All-American honors in her senior year.
How did she get to that point? She was one of the most consistent and all-around players the UW volleyball program had under then head coach Steve Lowe. By the time she left UW, Boyd ranked in the top 10 of every career statistical category except assists.
A great testament to her prowess is the fact that to this day Boyd still ranks near the top of the all-time lists in many categories for her era. Playing in the sideout (rather than rally scoring) era, it’s hard to compare raw numbers thanks to the increased opportunities to score in her era.
She was a game changer in her era, as she was great in attack and on defense, leading the team in blocks her junior and senior season while also maintaining one of the best attack percentages for a career in UW history.
Boyd was even named the No. 52 athlete in the UW Athletes of the Century list. However, her accomplishments and meaning to a program that continues to rise has her much higher on our very own list.
Full 50 Greatest Badgers List:
No. 50 – Randy Jablonic
No. 49 – Alex Rigsby
No. 48 — Michael Lihrman
No. 47 — Howard “Cub” Buck
No. 46 — Don Davey
No. 45 — Pat O’Dea
No. 44 — Curtis Joseph
No. 43 — Dean Anderson
No. 42 — Ivy Martin
No. 41 — Ron Vander Kelen
No. 40 — Carly Piper
No. 39 — J.J. Watt
No. 38 — Joe Pavelski
No. 37 — Barb Franke
No. 36 — Dick Cable
No. 35 — Sam Dekker
No. 34 — Jolene Anderson
No. 33 — Paul Gruber
No. 32 — Mark Johnson
No. 31 — Chris Borland
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