July 18, 2000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini volleyball program has had two players named to the Big Ten's annual preseason all-conference team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Senior middle blocker Betsy Spicer (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and junior outside hitter Shadia Haddad (Cincinnati, Ohio/St.Ursula) are part of the 13-player preseason all-conference team. Spicer, who earned All-Big Ten and All-District honors last season, was one of three unanimous selections to the team, along with Minnesota's Nicole Branagh and Penn State's Katie Schumacher.

Spicer led the Illini in a number of categories last season, including hitting percentage (.333), service aces (31), blocks (137) and blocks per game (1.34), and was second on the team in kills (326) and kills per game (3.20). She recorded two of the top-seven hitting performances in school history in 1999, hitting .857 (12-0-14) against Purdue and .818 (10-1-11) against George Mason.

Haddad led the Illini in kills (382), kills per game (3.82) and total attacks (976). She claimed the two highest offensive performances by an Illini last season, recording a career high 32 kills against Florida, bettering her previous high of 26 against Ohio State.

Penn State, the defending NCAA Champion, was chosen to repeat as conference champion, ahead of Minnesota and Wisconsin, who were chosen second and third, respectively.

2000 Pre-Season All-Big Ten Volleyball Team

PLAYER                SCHOOL          POS.  HT.     YR.    HOMETOWN
Nicole Branagh  *     Minnesota       OH    6-1     Sr.    Orinda, CA
Katie Schumacher *    Penn State      OH    6-0     Jr.    Chicago, IL
Betsy Spicer *        Illinois        MB    6-1     Sr.    Barrington, IL
Lindsey Berg          Minnesota       S     5-8     Jr.    Honolulu, HI
Jenny Maastricht      Wisconsin       OH    6-1     Sr.    Silver Lake, WI
Sherisa Livingston    Wisconsin       MB    6-1     Jr.    Simi Valley, CA
Mishka Levy           Penn State      MB    6-2     So.    Stafford, TX
Christie Landry       Michigan State  S     6-2     Sr.    Naperville, IL
Erin Hartley          Michigan State  OH    6-3     Jr.    Midland, MI
Jessica Sanborn       Michigan State  M     6-2     Sr.    Colbert, WA
Amanda Rome           Penn State      OH    5-10    Jr.    Chaska, MN
Shadia Haddad  (tie)  Illinois        OH    6-0     Jr.    Cincinnati, OH
Katie Virtue  (tie)   Ohio State      S     5-9     So.    St. Charles, IL