Nov. 26, 2007
Park Ridge, Ill. -
Illinois' Laura DeBruler and Vicki Brown have been named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. DeBruler also landed a spot on the six-member All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Sophomore libero Ashley Edinger was the Illini's Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Few players have made as big of an impact in Illinois history than has DeBruler. The freshman from Downers Grove (Ill.) North High School had 28 kills in her Illinois debut vs. Bowling Green, the only player even to reach double figures in her first match as an Illini. DeBruler finished the season with 577 kills, the third most by any player in Illinois history. She tallied 15 matches with at least 20 kills, tied for second most in a season in school history. Her 4.89 kills per game leads the Big Ten and is tops of any freshman nationally while her 5.86 points per game are also tops in the conference. DeBruler ranked second on the Illinois team with 285 digs while being named to three All-Tournament teams in 2007.
Brown earns Honorable Mention All-Big Ten for the second straight season. The senior from Toledo, Ohio's Roy C. Start High School ran her All-Tournament streak to seven with three additional honors this season. She was named MVP of the State Farm Illini Classic for the second straight year. Brown finished the season with 377 kills, second to DeBruler on the team, and a .321 attack percentage. That increases her career numbers to 1,082 kills with a .297 career attack percentage. Brown also led Illinois with 135 blocks.
Edinger, a sophomore from Michigan City, Ind. (High School) broke Illinois single-season digs record with 564, bettering the old mark of 520 set two years ago by Beth Vrdsky. With 1,052 career digs, she on pace to shatter Illinois' career mark of 1,426 held by Tracey Marshall. Edinger ranked third in the Big Ten with 4.78 digs per game and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Mizuno Invitational II hosted by Rice University. She has five of the top nine single-match digs performances in school history, including 37 vs. Northwestern on Nov. 2, one off the school record.
