May 12, 2011
Champaign, Ill. -
Complete 2011 Illinois volleyball schedule in PDF Format 
Coming off three straight NCAA Sweet 16 seasons, Illinois is vying to take the next step in 2011, and the season schedule once again will prepare Kevin Hambly's team for the postseason.
On the slate will be 18 matches against 14 teams who qualified for the 2010 NCAA Tournament, including eight others from the Big Ten. To put the strength of the schedule in an even greater perspective, six of the opponents reached the Sweet 16 and nine were ranked in the final AVCA Coaches Poll.
The season includes two in-season tournaments at Huff Hall. The State Farm Illini Classic, which features NCAA qualifiers Dayton and Tennessee, the 11th overall seed in last year's NCAA, along with Houston, is slated for Sept. 2-3. Illinois will also host the Big Ten/Big East Challenge, which once again features four NCAA qualifiers, on Sept. 16-17. Illinois and Purdue will meet Cincinnati and Louisville on successive days. The Cardinals are coached by former Illini assistant Anne Kordes.
Illinois will also play in two road tournaments. The season begins Aug. 26-27 at head coach Kevin Hambly's alma mater, BYU where the Illini meet the host Cougars along with Saint's Mary's and UCSB.
On Sept. 9-10, the Illini travel to Middle Tennessee State, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament. At MTSU, Illinois will also meet Cal Poly and Tulsa, who upset 13th-overall seed LSU in straight sets in the NCAA first round and took Oklahoma to five sets in the second round.
"Our preconference schedule is filled with a lot of very dangerous teams that will test our team and help us figure out who we are by the time we get to the Big Ten schedule," Hambly noted.
The conference season will once again consist of 20 matches, however with the addition of Nebraska to the league, there will be two teams each year the Illini will play just once. Previously, the league featured a complete double round robin schedule. This year Illinois' "one-plays" are Nebraska (only in Lincoln) and Iowa (only in Champaign).
With an even number of teams in the Big Ten, every school has a travel partner, however, the conference will move a few marquee Friday games to Wednesday to accommodate Big Ten Network showcase broadcasts. While the complete BTN schedule won't be announced until later this summer, the Illini know they will play a few Wednesday games - Oct. 12 (vs. Michigan), Oct. 19 (at Northwestern), Nov. 2 (at Purdue) and Nov. 23 (vs. Northwestern). Illinois opens the Big Ten season on Sept. 23 at Minnesota, who is under the direction of interim head coach and former Illini great Laura Bush.
"One thing that stands out, and I hope our fans get used to the idea of, is playing more Wednesday night matches, which will give us a chance to show off our strong volleyball conference on national television," Hambly added. "With an eye to the postseason I feel like this schedule will prepare us for the NCAAs and expose all of the weaknesses we have in helping us get better for December."
