Complete Match Notes in PDF Format
Illinois tries to remain atop Big Ten
Illinois enters this week tied for first in the Big Ten with a 5-1 record, alongside #15 Michigan and #20 Northwestern. Illinois is looking for its first Big Ten title since 1992.
Illini welcome fellow `giant killers'
Both opponents this weekend, Purdue (Friday) and Indiana) knocked off seven-time defending conference champion and three-time defending national champion Penn State. last weekend. The teams also defeated Ohio State at home. Illinois ended the Nittany Lions' 65-match Big Ten winning streak on Sept. 24 with a five-set victory at Huff.
Illinois building home edge: Illinois is averaging 2,567 fans per match in six matches thus far. The Illini are on pace for their best home attendance year since averaging 2,657 in 1993 and 3,098 in 1992, both of which led the nation those years.
• The Illini had its first sellout since 1992 when 4,141 saw Illinois top Penn State in five sets on Sept. 24. The Illini also drew 3,127 for the Northwestern match on Oct. 2, also a five-set victory. That marked the first time since 1993 the Illini have drawn more than 3,000 for match twice in the same season.
• Illinois is 6-0 at home this year and 33-4 in front of the home crowd the past three years combined. Two of the losses have come to No. 1 Penn State.
• In the years that Illinois has qualified for the NCAA Tournament, Illinois has a 230-45 home record (.836).
• Illinois is currently eighth nationally in home attendance
Home court holds true in Big Ten
Home court advantage is rampant in the Big Ten so far this year.
• Last weekend the home team went 9-1 with Illinois' win over Michigan State the only road team to win.
• The top six teams in the Big Ten are a combined 15-0 at home this season in conference play and 44-3 at home in all matches.
Purdue's match precedes Illini Madness
Illinois men's basketball hosts its annual Illini Madness Friday night at Huff. Following the volleyball match, the arena will be cleared and doors will open again at 10 pm for Madness.
Friday's match produced by Student U
Friday night's match vs. Purdue will be streamed live at video@bigtennetwork.com with Eric Steckling and Heather Pink on the call. The match will be condensed to a 90-minute show and replayed on Monday, Oct. 18 at 1 pm CT on the Big Ten Network
Laura DeBruler suffers ACL tear
An MRI this week confirmed that a knee injury to Laura DeBruler that occurred the Oct. 9 match at Michigan is indeed an ACL tear. DeBruler will miss the rest of the season.
• DeBruler ends her college career ranked first in kills (1,833) and attacks (4,806) and seventh in digs (1,117) all-time at Illinois. In addition, her 36 20-kill matches are most in school history. DeBruler is a two-time All-American, earning second team honors in 2008 and first-team honors in 2009, just the fourth Illinois player to be named to the first team. She was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and earned eight Big Ten Player of the Week honors, including on Oct. 4 following a pair of 20-kill match performances in victories over Wisconsin and Northwestern. DeBruler was also named to 12 all-tournament teams in her career, including earning MVP of three of those tournaments.
Illinois at 8 in latest AVCA poll
The Illini dropped two spots to No. 8 in the latest AVCA Coaches poll. The Illini have been ranked in the top 10 each week this season.
Illini remains third in RPI list:
Illinois ranks third in the latest RPI released this week. The enitre Big Ten was ranked in the first 53.
Illinois has shown its depth
Jazmine Orozco takes over the starting spot vacated by Laura DeBruler. Orozco got the start for DeBruler in the five matches DeBruler missed earlier this season due to mononucleosis.Orozco posted five straight double-digit kills matches, including a career-high 20 at Nebraska. In five starts, she had 70 kills, 68 digs and is hitting .268.
• With Ward struggling at Wisconsin, Orozco played the final two sets and amassed six digs in the victory over the Badgers.
• Illinois is undefeated this season with a line-up that is full strength, but that has happened just twice since Sept. 4. Laura DeBruler missed two weeks and five matches with mononucleosis.
Even without DeBruler, the Illini took the first two sets at Nebraska in front of nearly 12,000 fans. That is until right side hitter Michelle Bartsch suffered an ankle sprain in set three. The Huskers took the next three sets, winning 16-14 in the fifth.
Bartsch didn't miss a complete match, but without DeBruler Illinois also lost to then unranked Cincinnati after dropping the first two sets.
Illinois had a full complement of players in home victories over Penn St. and Ohio St., but found out the following Monday that middle blocker Erin Johnson also had mono. Johnson missed the last four matches.
• Senior Nicole Kump is filling in for Johnson at middle blocker after also filling in for Michelle Bartsch on the right side late in the match with Nebraska.
Kump has occasionally come into the line-up for Hillary Haen to provide a right side blocker during critical points.
Now back to her natural position at middle blocker, Kump had four kills (hitting .333) and three blocks at Wisconsin and four kills (hitting .571) with four blocks vs. Northwestern. She added four blocks at Michigan.
• Without DeBruler, junior Colleen Ward was the go-to player. She amassed three straight 20-kill matches, including a career-best 29 vs. Cincinnati. Ward has been named to three All-Tournament Teams. In the five matches in DeBruler's absence, Ward had 106 kills (5.30 kps) and is hitting .325.
Illinois-Purdue series notes
• Illinois owns a 40-32 series edge of Purdue in the all-time series. The Illini have won five straight after Purdue took six out of seven in one stretch
• Illinois defeated Purdue in Champaign in five sets. In that match, Johannah Bangert tied the Illinois block assist record with 13.
• The matches at Huff have seen some records. In 2005, Rachel VanMeter set the Huff record for attacks with 99 in a five-set victory over Purdue. In 2006, Purdue's Stephanie Lynch set a Huff record for attack percentage by an opponent when she hit .789 (16-1-19) in a straight sets win over Illinois.
Illinois-Indiana series notes
• Illinois leads the all-time series with Hoosiers, 53-12. The Illini have won five straight and 13 of the last 15 matches against Indiana
• Illinois is 26-5 vs. Indiana in Champaign
DeBruler a finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS
Illinois senior Laura DeBruler is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for volleyball. The honor is given to a student-athlete who excels both on and off the court. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates that was announced in August. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote via the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award website through November 23. Fan votes will be combined with media and coaches votes to determine the winner.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in Kansas City in mid-December.
Defeating top-five teams: Illinois now has five victories in school history over top-five opponents with three of those five now coming on the road.
•The win over Penn State gives Illinois two wins over top-five teams in the same season for the first time in school history. The Illini defeated No. 2 Texas in Austin on Sept. 3 as well as No. 2 Penn State on Sept. 24. Prior to the win over Texas, the last top-five win came on Sept. 11, 2004, a five-set victory over No. 1 USC. The 16th-ranked Illini defeated No. 3 Hawaii on the island in three sets on Nov. 4, 1992, and eighth-ranked Illinois defeated No. 4 Nebraska in Lincoln in five sets on Nov. 11, 1989.
Illini in the NCAA stat rankings
Illinois ranks eighth in the NCAA in kills (14.57 per set) and fifth in assists (13.75).
• Hillary Haen ranks third individually in assists at 12.1 per set.
• Johannah Bangert is 19th in hitting percentage (.393) and 25th in blocks (1.29)
