Sept. 18, 2000

Champaign, IL - Senior middle blocker Betsy Spicer (Barrington, Ill./Barrington High School) has been named the Big Ten Volleyball Co-Player of the Week, as announced by the conference office. She shares the honor with Michigan State senior outside hitter Sarah Gustin. Spicer earns the award for the second time in three weeks after leading the Illini to a perfect 3-0 record last week at home.

In the season home opener against DePaul, Spicer tied her career high with 23 kills and made it a double-double with 15 digs. She was then named MVP of the State Farm Illini Classic after guiding the Illini to their sixth straight Classic championship. Against New Hampshire, Spicer set a new career high with 24 kills, breaking her previous high of 23 which she had reached twice previously (vs. Louisville and DePaul, both this season). She hit a whopping .563 against New Hampshire, and made a difference defensively with eight digs and five blocks. She then led the charge in bringing the Illini back from an 0-2 deficit against Ball State, recording 20 kills with just three errors on 34 swings, good for an attack percentage of .500. In the three matches combined, Spicer hit a sizzling .491 while accumulating 67 kills, an average of 4.8 kills per game.

"It's pretty remarkable when you look at the statistics Betsy has put together this season," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "Every team we play, the defenders key on her and try to stop her, and despite having two blockers on her on virtually every swing, she is still hitting great numbers."

"I can't say enough about how valuable Betsy is to this program. And it goes far beyond what she does in games. She is our team leader and the hardest worker in practice every day. Her effort and dedication sets the tone for the rest of our players to follow."

Illinois, 9-2 on the year, opens the Big Ten season this weekend on the road. The Illini are at Iowa on Friday and at Minnesota on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.