Illinois opens Big Ten this weekend
September 22, 2004 | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2004
Champaign, Ill. -
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Sept. 24 vs. Purdue
7 p.m. Huff Hall, Champaign, Ill.
Sept. 25 vs. Indiana
7 p.m. Huff Hall, Champaign, Ill.
The Purdue Series: Illinois leads the All-Time Series, 34-26 and has won 13 of the last 15 meetings. The Illini swept the Boilermakers last season, winning 22-30, 30-23, 30-14, 34-36, 15-11 in Champaign. Melissa Vandrey had 30 kills in the victory, the most kills since Shadia Haddad had 32 in 1999. Illinois wo 23-30, 30-26, 30-20, 30-21 in West Lafayette. Rachel VanMeter led Illinois with 21 kills.
The Indiana Series: Illinois has a commanding 43-14 lead in the all-time series and is 32-6 vs. the Hoosiers since 1985. The Illini have won three matches in a row, including two wins last season. Illinois won 30-20, 28-30, 30-23, 30-27 in Bloomington. Rachel VanMeter had 19 kills. The Illini also won in four games in Champaign, 30-13, 27-30, 30-21, 30-16. Erin Virtue had 60 assists as Illinois hit .400
Big Ten Openers: Last year Illinois played the first four Big Ten matches on the road winning at Northwestern and Iowa and falling at Wisconsin and Minnesota. Illinois won its Big Ten home opener in impressive fashion over then #11 Penn State.
Illinois is 16-6 all-time in Big Ten home openers and 17-5 all-time in Big Ten home openers.
No travel partner: With 11 teams in the Big Ten, each year the conference rotates which team does not have a travel partner. This year it's Illinois. That means the week other teams play Illinois, those opponents will only have to play one match in the weekend while playing their travel partner midweek.
Big Ten has stellar non-conference season: Illinois posted a 10-5 record vs. Top 25 teams during the non-conference portion of the schedule and were 83-24 (.776) vs. non-conference opponents this season. Six Big Ten teams received votes in the latest national poll. Purdue made a brief appearance in the poll after defeating #12 Georgia Tech on Sept. 3. The Boilers are not currently receiving votes.
More on Purdue: The Boilermakers were 7-3 heading into Wednesday's Big Ten opener with Indiana. Kim McConaha, who had two 20-kill performances last weekend, paces Purdue with 162 kills on the year. The Boilers rank third in the league with a .289 attack percentage. Daren Poe went over the 1,000-dig mark over the weekend and ranks second on the team with 107 digs behind Anne Mastrandea.
More on Indiana: Indiana is 6-5 on the season heading into the week. The Hoosiers have lost four of its last five matches, including all three at last weekend's TIS Bookstore Invitational hosted by Indiana. The Hoosiers have defeated IUPUI, Murray state, Oregon State, Arkansas-Little Rock and Houston. The Hoosiers began the year 5-1 with the only loss coming to Saint Louis, coached by former Illini assistant Anne Kordes. Katie Pollom paces Indiana with 173 kills while Tasha Arsenych paces a strong middle game with 61 blocks on the year.
Upcoming Promotions:
Sept. 24 Purdue -- Camper Reunion Night: Athletes who attended Illinois Summer camp this summer are back.
Sept. 25 Indiana -- Use your Purdue-Illinois football ticket stub for free admission into the championship round.
Oct. 8 -- High School Team Night
Oct. 22 -- Family Fun Night
Oct. 23 -- Girl Scout Night
Nov. 5 -- Beat the Badgers Happy Hour -- Drinks will be half price from 6-6:30 p.m. The first 250 fans receive a rally towel
A Look Back
Illinois is coming off a tournament title at the C&C Services Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas. Illinois defeated Houston (3-0), Ball State (3-1) and Arkansas (3-1) en route to the title. Rasa Virsilaite was named the tournament MVP after totaling 59 kills and hitting .392 for the tournament. Virsilaite had two double doubles on the weekend with 10 digs vs. Arkansas and and 19 vs. Ball State.Jessica Belter and Rachel VanMeter were also named to the All-Tournament Team. For VanMeter this marks the third straight tournament she has held this distinction after winning MVP honors the first two tournaments of the year. VanMeter had 41 kills. Belter hit over .300 in victories over Ball State (.314) and Houston (.316).
Illinois began the week with a tough five-game loss to Loyola. The Illini battled back from two games down to nearly pull off the victory, falling, 30-25, 20-24, 26-30, 28-30, 15-13. Jessica Belter had 17 kills followed by Rasa Virsilaite's 16.
Illinois played four matches minus middle blocker Jen Hynds, who suffered an ankle injury in Monday's practice. She is expected to return.
VIRTUE OUT FOR SEASON
Illinois senior setter Erin Virtue has suffered a tear of her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee, an MRI has revealed. The Honorable Mention All-American and Pre-Season All-Big Ten selection will need surgery and will miss the rest of the season.Virtue, who topped the 2,000 assist mark in just one plus year as Illinois' starter, amassed 424 assists during the 2004 season before suffering the injury late in Illinois' win over Ball State on Sept. 17. Virtue was named to her fourth All-Tournament Team of her career at the State Farm Illini Classic. Not only has Virtue developed into one of the top setters in the country but her leadership, personality, and contagious attitude are some of the intangibles that she brings to the table.
Redshirt freshman Stephanie Obermeier took over the starting spot for Virtue in Saturday's four-game victory over Arkansas in the championship match of the C&C Services Invitational, totaling 50 assists in the process.
ILLINI TOP NUMBER ONE
In a weekend full of upsets in the volleyball world, Illinois pulled the one most talked about with the win over USC. The Illini came from behind to win, 30-24, 24-30, 12-30, 30-27, 15-8 in front of 3,000 fans at Huff Hall. USC had come into the match with the all-time best win streak in NCAA History -- 52 matches and were the two-time defending champion. Illinois was out hit in the match .277-.126 and out-blocked 19-10, but didn't give up one service ace, while converting nine of their own.After that week Illinois reached the top ten for the first since the 1993 season and has reached its best ranking since ending the 1998 season at No. 14.
(VAN) METER OFF THE CHARTS IN FIRST WEEK
Rachel VanMeter was the dominating force early on for Illinois. Van Meter had the roaring crowd at Huff Hall on their feet with a an impressive 20 kill, .607 hitting performance in a three-game sweep of Illinois State in the season opener. She followed that up with a career-high 20 kills against TCU in which she had 10 kills in 16 swings (.625) in the fourth and decisive game. Then she tallied 26 kills in earning her second straight MVP honor at the Illini Classic. Van Meter has 25 kills vs. Arkansas and was named All-Tournament there.VanMeter showed her spark at times last year against stiff competition, exploding for 23 kills in a four-game upset of #11 Penn State, and the game winning kills vs. eventual Final Four participant Minnesota.
KILLER "Vs" SPARK ILLINI
While Melissa Vandrey graduated from last year, Illinois still has the distinction of having four players that start with the letter V in the line-up. All four played a huge role in the victory over USC and three of the four were named to the State Farm Illini Classic All-Tournament Team.Erin Virtue, a Pre-Season All Big Ten selection, had 97 assists in eight games to earn all-tourney accolades. Rasa Virsilaite had a career night 14 kills vs. USC and earned All-Tournament honors for the second straight week. Rachel VanMeter earned her second MVP honor with another game-winning kill vs. the Women of Troy.
FACING NUMBER ONE
The win over USC was the first by Illinois in seven tries against a number one team, four of those matches have come at Huff Hall. The Illini have taken the top team to five games now five times. In 1990 Nebraska played Illinois in the Illini Invitational ranked number one. The unranked Illini took the first two games from the Huskers, 15-6, 15-13 before falling in the final three games, 15-9, 15-8, 15-8. In 1998, top-ranked Penn State came in to Huff. This time the Nittany Lions took the first two games, 15-6, 15-7. Illinois took the next two, 17-15, 15-8 before Penn State won game five 15-12. #1 Penn State downed the Illini, in three games in 1999.Illinois also faced number one in 1988 and 1990. #2 Illinois lost to #1 Hawaii 15-11, 15-9, 15-8 in the 1988 Wahine Classic and to #1 UCLA at the Community Banker's Classic in Los Angeles, 15-6, 15-12, 15-3 in 1990.
• Illinois could face number one again this season. Minnesota currently holds the top spot. The Illini meet Minnesota on Oct. 16 in Minneapolis and Nov. 26 in Champaign.
HARKS DIGS FOR RECORD
Lauren Harks enters the week with 1,038 digs for her career. She is six shy of Mary Eggers for fourth. The Top Ten:No. Years
1. Tracey Marshall 1,426 1996-1999
2. Mary Coleman 1,393 1995-1998
3. Sandy Scholtens 1,133 1985-1988
4. Mary Eggers 1,092 1985-1988
5. Lauren Harks 1,086 2001-
6. Petra Laverman 1,003 1988-1990
7. Shadia Haddad 962 1998-2001
8. Disa Johnson 959 1984-1987
9. Bridget Boyle 951 1986-1989
10.Laura Bush 915 1987-1990
THREE NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT in MIAMI
Junior Rachel VanMeter was named MVP of the Hurricane Frances Classic in Oxford, Ohio. Senior Lauren Harks and junior Rasa Virsilaite also were named All-Tournament.VanMeter compiled 43 kills, 4.5 blocks in the two tournament matches, and hit over .300 in both matches. The junior enjoyed a career performance in the first match of the day, registering 28 kills. Harks tallied 31 digs in the two matches, while Virsilaite totaled 26 kills, including a career-high 15 in the first match against TCU.
MAKING RANK
Here is a list of the number of times teams have finished ranked in the Final poll of the season:
FIRST CLASS ATHLETES
The Illini volleyball team had a combined 3.39 GPA during the Spring semester, marking the 13th straight semester that the team GPA has been 3.0 or higher.
VIRTUE TOPS 2,000
With her 97 assists in the State Farm Illini Classic, Erin Virtue topped the 2,000 assists mark. She finishes her career with 2,220 for her career.NCAA ATTENDANCE LEADERS:
School Avg. Total MP
1. Hawai'I 6,519 52,154 8
2. Nebraska 4,132 16,527 4
3. Wisconsin 3,448 17,242 5
4. Penn State 2,594 15,564 6
5. Florida 2,039 4,078 2
6. Illinois 2,007 6,022 3
7. Minnesota 1,995 5,984 3
8. Colorado St.1,920 11,523 6
9. Purdue 1,645 8,225 5
10. Texas A&M 1,637 8,186 5
11. Long Beach 1,513 10,593 7
12. Illinois St.1,420 4,261 3
13. Texas 1,341 5,363 4
14. Michigan 1,310 7,863 6
15. No. Iowa 1,216 3,648 3
16. So. Carolina1,110 3,301 3
17. Kansas State 1,096 3,287 3
18. Notre Dame 1,093 4,373 4
19. BYU 1,087 6,521 6
20. Georgia Tech1,030 3,091 3
21. Valparaiso 1,029 1,029 1
22. No. Carolina 946 3,784 4
23. No. Colorado 914 914 1
24. Wash. St. 870 1,739 2
25. Wichita St. 826 2,479 3
BIG TEN TELEViSION SCHEDULE
9/24 Michigan at Iowa FSN, 9/26, 6 p.m.10/1 Minnesota at Ohio St. FSN, 10/3, 3 p.m.
10/9 Michigan St.at Illinois FSN, 10/10, 3 p.m.
10/16 Mich. St. at Penn St. ESPN2, 10/17, 2:30 p.m.
10/16 Indiana at N'western FSN, 10/17, 3 p.m.
10/30 Minnesota at Wisconsin ESPN2, 10/31, 2:30 p.m.
10/30 Purdue at Penn State FSN, 10/3, 3 p.m.
11/6 Northwestern at Illinois ESPN2 11,/7, 4 p.m.
11/12 Wisconsin at Penn St. FSN, 11/14, 3 p.m.
11/20 MSU at Wisconsin FSN , 11/21, 3 p.m.
11/26-27 WILDCARD FSN, 11/28, 3 p.m.
