Nov. 20, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
ILLINOIS AT AT GLANCE
MINNESOTA (17-11, 10-8) AT ILLINOIS (15-13, 7-11), NOV. 23, 7 PM, HUFF HALL, CHAMPAIGN
IOWA (9-20, 1-17) AT ILLINOIS (15-13, 7-11), NOV. 24, 7 PM, HUFF Hall, CHAMPAIGN
Radio: Illini Sports Network on fightingillini.com (Brian Moline)
Illinois to honor seniors
Illinois will honor graduating seniors Vicki Brown, Stefanie Alde, and Amy Palash.
• Brown has been a three-year starter at middle blocker, amassing 1,063 kills and 330 blocks. She has been named to seven straight All-Tournament teams, being named MVP of three. The Honorable Mention All-Big Ten performer is a native of Toledo, Ohio, and the daugther of Kelvin and Francine Brown and is majoring in speech communication
• Alde joined has been a stalwart for the Illini at right side hitter for the past two seasons. She has double-figures in kills in eight of last 13 matches, topping last year's 248 kills with 264 this year. The daughter of Carl and Lindsay Alde, she is majoring in advertising.
• Palash has been a valuable member of the Illini for the past two years, as both a passer and a hitter. She has appeared in 57 matches as an Illini and enters the weekend needing just 16 kills to top 1,000, which includes her two years at Valaparaiso. The daughter of Allen and Carolyn Palash, she is majoring in speech communication.
Edinger sets Illinois single-season digs record, tops 1,000 digs
With 24 digs against Ohio St., Ashley Edinger set Illinois' single-season digs record. She now has 531 digs for the year, besting the old mark of 520 set by Beth Vrdsky in 2005.
• Edinger also topped 1,000 digs in just her 57th match of her career. Tracey Marshall, who is Illinois' all-time digs leader with 1,426, recorded her 1,000th career dig in her 80th match.
Illinois single-season digs list
1. Ashley Edinger (2007) 531
2. Beth Vrdsky (2005) 520
3. Ashley Edinger (2006) 488
4. Tracey Marshall (1998) 465
5. Erin Borske (1995) 396
7. Lauren Harks (2003) 393
7. Mary Coleman (1998) 391
8. Shadia Haddad (2000) 371
9. Shadia Haddad (2001) 368
10. Mary Coleman (1995) 367
Illinois career digs list
1. Tracey Marshall (1996-99) 1,496
2. Mary Coleman (1995-98) 1,393
3. Lauren Harks (2001-04) 1,346
4. Beth Vrdsky (2003-06) 1,166
5. Sandy Scholtens (1985-88) 1,133
6. Mary Eggers (1985-88) 1,092
7. Ashley Edinger (2006-) 1,019
8. Petra Laverman (1988-90) 1,003
9. Kathleen Bazzetta (2001-04) 974
10. Shadia Haddad (1998-01) 962
Don Hardin going for win no. 400
Illinois head coach
Don Hardin needs just one more win to reach 400 for his career. He entered this season -- his 12th at Illinois -- with exactly 192 wins at both Louisville and Illinois. The win over Toledo was his 200th at Illinois and 392nd overall. His record now stands at 207-152 at Illinois and 399-228 overall.
Milestone wins
1 -- 8/29/88, Louisville 3, W. Kent. 1
100 -- 10/17/92, Louisville 3, Tulane 0
200 -- 10/12/96, Illinois 3, Indiana 1
300 -- 9/14/02, Illinois 3, UConn 0
1 at Illinois -- 9/2/96 Illinois 3, ISU 1
100 at Illinois -- 11/14/01, Illinois 3, Indiana 1
200 at Illinois -- 9/15/07, Illinois 3, Toledo 1
Where will the cutoff be?:
The question heading down the stretch in the Big Ten is how many teams will make the NCAA from the conference and what will it take to get in. Here is a breakdown of the number of teams that made the tournament from the Big Ten and the conference record of the last in since the NCAA expanded the field to 64 teams in 1998:
1998 6 9-11
1999 8 8-12
2000 6 11-9
2001 6 10-10
2002 8 10-10
2003 7 9-11
2004 7 9-11
2005 6 10-10
2006 7 8-12
Illinois sweeps Minnesota, Iowa weekend on the road
The Illini swept Iowa in three straight games 30-26-, 30-28, 30-24 then stunned No. 11 Minnesota at the Sports Pavilion in four 30-25, 30-25, 18-30, 30-21.
Freshman Laura DeBruler had 39 kills on the weekend. DeBruler had seven kills in all three games the Illini won vs. the Gophers.
Senior All-Big Ten performer Vicki Brown had been suffering through an injury to her hitting hand and did not play against Iowa. With four freshmen and a sophomore in the rotation, the Illini took care of the Hawkeyes. Abby Nelson made her first collegiate start and contributed seven kills and five blocks.
Brown returned against Minnesota and served as a double threat with DeBruler, contributing 14 kills and hitting .296, including a .714 clip in the tone-setting first game.
Laura DeBruler leads freshmen nationally in kills per game
Laura DeBruler leads Florida A&M's Jovanna Blazeski by a slim margin for the top spot nationally among freshmen in kills per game. DeBruler is averaging 4.90 kills per game, edging Blazeski (4.89) and Texas' Juliann Faucette (4.67)
NCAA Freshman Kills leaders
(Listed by NCAA Overall Ranking)
23. Laura DeBruler, Illinois 4.90
24. Jovanna Blazeski, FAMU 4.89
36. Juliann Faucette, Texas 4.67
49. Megan York, St. Mary's 4.52
60. Krista Kelley, Santa Clara 4.47
71. Nataly Korobkova, KSU 4.39
Iowa Series Notes: Illinois leads the all-time series, 45-13 and is 19-4 under Don Hardin.
• Illinois has won five straight matches in Iowa City.
• The Illini have won the last four matches overall vs. the Hawkeyes.
Minnesota Series Notes: Illinois leads the all-time series, 34-23, but Minnesota has won 12 of the last 16 meetings...The Illini won four straight matches from Nov. 29, 1997-Oct. 16, 1999.
Illinois takes No. 2 Penn State to five games: After dropping the first two games to No. 2 Penn State on Oct. 19, Illinois rallied to take games three and four before the Lions won the match in five. The Illini were the Big Ten team and still the only unranked opponent to win a game from the Lions this season. Wisconsin took Penn State to five on Oct. 21.
Illinois wins longest game in school history from Wisconsin
Illinois played its longest single game in school history vs. Wisconsin on Sept. 19. The Illini had 11 game points in the opening frame before they prevailed 41-39. Illinois had leads in game two before the Badgers rebounded to take a competitive game two, 31-29. Wisconsin won the final two games handily.
Got to dig the Illini: Illinois has out-dug 22 of 28 opponents this year, many by impressive margins -- 49-27 vs. IPFW, 76-52 vs. Dayton, 54-36 vs. Marquette, 56-21 vs. Southern Illinois, 53-37 vs. Iowa and 82-65 vs. Penn State. Overall the Illini have 1,514 digs (15.61) to their opponents' 1,327 (13.68).
Edinger posts second best digs
• Ashley Edinger's 37 digs vs. Northwestern were the second most in a match in school history, one off the record by Petra Laverman. Edinger has five of the top ten single-match digs in school history, three of which were this year.
Illinois single-match list
1. Petra Laverman (9/30/89) 38
2. Ashley Edinger (11/2/07) 37
3. Beth Vrdsky (9/16/05) 36
4. Ashley Edinger (10/21/07) 34
5. Ashley Edinger (8/31/07) 32
Rita Schwartz (9/5/84) 32
7. Ashley Edinger (9/3/06) 31
Beth Vrdsky (11/16/05) 31
9. Ashley Edinger (9/28/88) 30
Sandy Scholtens (9/28/88)
DeBruler reaches 20 kills regularly: Laura DeBruler has 14 matches with at least 20 kills this season, including seven in a row and 10 of the last 11 matches. She ranks third on Illinois' single-season list of 20-kill matches trailing only Erin Borske (19 in 1995) and
Rachel VanMeter (15 in 2005). Her 14 such matches moves her into sixth on the career list. VanMeter holds the career mark with 29.
Illinois career 20-kill matches
1. Rachel VanMeter (`01-'05) 29
2. Erin Borske (`94-'95) 28
3. Tracey Marshall (`96-'99) 19
4. Mary Coleman (`95-'98) 18
5. Shadia Haddad (`98-'01) 16
6. Laura DeBruler (2007) 14
7. Bridget Boyle (`86-'89) 13
Nancy Brookhart (`86-'89) 13
9. Betsy Spicer (`97-2000) 11
Petra Laverman (`88-'90) 11
DeBruler atop Big Ten kills, points
Laura DeBruler leads the Big Ten in kills per game in both all matches (4.90) and conference only matches (5.00). She also paces the league in points per game for all matches (5.38).
• Only three other Illini have ever led the conference in kills per game -- Lorna Henderson (1991), Erin Borske (1995) and Rachel VanMeter (2005). DeBruler would be just the fourth freshmen to ever lead the Big Ten in kills per game and the second straight. Penn State's Megan Hodge led the league at 4.83 kills per game last season.
DeBruler having one of Illinois' best kill seasons ever: Laura DeBruler has 539 kills on the season. DeBruler is averaging 19.25 kills/match on pace for 577 for the year, which would be the third most in school history.
Illinois Single-Season Kills List
Name Year Kills
1. Erin Borske 1995 714
2. Rachel VanMeter 2005 672
3. Nancy Brookhart 1987 540
4. Laura DeBruler 2007 539
5. Tracey Marshall 1998 536
6. Mary Coleman 1996 504
7. Julie Edwards 1994 500
8. Shadia Haddad 2000 491
9. Rachel VanMeter 2004 483
10. Bridget Boyle 1987 482
Comparing to a legend
Illinois head coach
Don Hardin said, "The only other person to have this big of an impact as a freshman has her banner hanging in the rafters."
Hardin was comparing Laura DeBruler to Illinois great Mary Eggers, who was named the 1988 Honda Award winner as the National Player of the Year.
In her freshman campaign of 1985, Eggers had a team-leading 431 kills She did so in 42 matches for a 3.34 kills per game average
DeBruler shattered those marks. She currently has 539 kills (an average of 4.90 kills per game), on pace for 577 by the end of the 30-match regular season.
