Aug. 31, 2011
Complete Week 2 Match Notes
State Farm Illini Classic
Dates: Sept. 2-3
The field: #7 Illinois, #21 Dayton, Tennessee (RV), Houston
Site: Huff Hall, Champaign, Ill.
The Schedule: Friday, 4:30 pm -- Dayton vs. Houston; Friday - 7 pm -- Illinois vs. Tennessee; Saturday, 10 am -- Illinois vs. Houston; Saturday, Noon -- Tennessee vs. Dayton; Saturday, 5:30 pm -- Houston vs. Tennessee; 7:30 pm -- Illinois vs. Dayton
Admission: $7 for reserved seating (ordered in advance), $5 general admission, $4 faculty/staff; U of I students free with student ID
Parking: Free in paved lot east of Huff Hall and grass lot south of Huff. On Saturday both lots will be reserved for volleyball patrons only.
Radio: All three Illinois matches will be carried live on WDWS (AM 1400) with Dave Loane and Mike Trame on the call.
Live streaming: All six matches will be streamed live on fightingillini.com (All-access rates apply).
"Stuff Huff" returns for sixth year
For the sixth straight year, Illinois is promoting its home opening volleyball match as "Stuff Huff." Inspired by the 2004 victory over top-ranked Southern Cal in the championship match of the State Farm Illini Classic that saw over 3,000 fans pack Huff in an incredible atmosphere, the Illini began a tradition of choosing a key early non-conference match to "Stuff Huff." It has traditionally been the first home match of the season and 2011 is no exception.
The promotion specifically targets its loyal fanatical student supporting section, the Spike Squad. Once again this year, men's basketball coach Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini basketball team will be outside of Huff beginning at 5:30 p.m. manning the grill and providing free food to the first 2,000 students. They will then lead the student crowd inside Huff to get psyched for the Illini's match against Tennessee. The event will also serve as a membership drive for Illini Pride and Orange Krush.
Illinois has drawn over 2,000 fans for the event each of the past five years, including a crowd of 3,129, the largest in 14 years, in a four-set victory over Illinois State in 2006. That year, over 1,600 University of Illinois students packed Huff to add to the tremendous atmosphere. Last year a crowd of 2,688 saw Illinois defeat BYU.
Frequent Flyers: Illinois and Dayton have made a habit of meeting on the volleyball court in recent years. The Illini and Flyers have played four straight years from 2006-2009 with the teams splitting those four contests. The teams most recently played in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament at Huff Hall with the Illini prevailing in four sets. Dayton won five-set contests in both 2007 (at the Dayton Flyer Classic) and 2008 (at Tennessee) with the Illini winning a regular season match at Huff Hall in 2006. Overall Illinois leads the series, 5-3.
• Illinois is 3-2 all-time vs. Tennessee, which includes a five-set win over the Lady Vols in that same 2008 tournament in Knoxville.
• The Illini lead the all-time series with Houston, 3-0, with the latest match a 3-0 victory over the Cougars at the 2004 C&C Services Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Tournament of champions: All four teams at the State Farm Illini Classic started the season by going 3-0 and winning their season-opening tournaments. Illinois won the BYU/Nike Invitational with victories over BYU (3-0), St. Mary's (3-0) and UCSB (3-1). Dayton defeated North Dakota (3-1), James Madison (3-0) and Green Bay (3-0) to claim the Green Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament. Houston downed Lipscomb (3-0), Xavier (3-0) and Central Arkansas (3-1) to take the Flo Hyman Invitational. Tennessee won its own tournament with wins over Villanova (3-0), Ohio (3-2) and Maryland (3-2).
Illini try to continue Illini Classic success:
This year marks the 28th State Farm Illini Classic. Illinois has won 20 of the previous 27 events, including five straight and 14 of the last 16. The Illini have a 58-7 all-time record in the history of the tournament.
• Last year Illinois defeated BYU, South Carolina and Middle Tennessee to claim the title. Hillary Haen earned the tournament MVP with Johannah Bangert and Laura DeBruler also being named to the all-tournament team.
Illini climb to No. 7 in latest poll
Illinois moved up to No. 7 in this week's AVCA Coaches' poll. Illinois has now spent 23 weeks in the top 10 in the past three years, including finishing 10th and ninth in the final poll in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
• The Big Ten continues to have seven teams in the top 25, including three in the top 10.
Ward, Illini ace record book
• Colleen Ward had some big performances at last year's State Farm Illini Classic.
• In opener against, BYU, Ward had an incredible run of aces, serving 11 straight points in set two, eight of those were aces. Ward added another ace for an Illinois record nine aces. The mark is also a new Huff Hall and State Farm Illini Classic mark. Ward passes Kathleen Bazzetta and Sue Nucci's Illinois mark of 8; and Illinois' Tina Rogers and Sue Webber and Penn State's Shannon Bortner's Huff mark of 7.
• Illinois had 16 aces as a team vs. BYU, a new Illini Classic and Huff Hall mark and one off the school record of 17 vs. Michigan State (on 10/22/88 and 10/16/82).
• BYU and Illinois also combined for 24 aces, a new Huff Hall record for combined aces, breaking the old mark of 22 by Illinois and Penn State on Nov. 9, 2001.
Bartsch, Ward named to All-Tournament Team at BYU Invite
Michelle Bartsch was named the MVP of the BYU/Nike Invitational. Bartsch and Ward each had 40 kills in three victories Bartsch had nine of her 13 blocks in the victory over St. Mary's and had 34 digs for the tournament. Ward added 32 digs in the 10 sets.
Orozco proves valuable
• Sophomore Jazmine Orozco, who missed much of the spring with a concussion, was valuable in a utility role. Despite not starting, Orozco hit .714 with five kills and a block as a right side hitter vs. BYU. She played all four sets in reserve vs. UCSB, posting six kills and four blocks.
"Block I" returns
Illinois' height advantage shone vs. St. Mary's as the Illini out-blocked the Gaels, 16-3.5. Bartsch led the way with nine blocks while freshman Anna Dorn added six. Overall, the Illini out-blocked their opponents 31-17.5 in the tournament.
New faces in line-up
Illinois had three new faces in the starting line-up to start the year.
• Anna Dorn made her first starts at middle blocker after missing most of last year with a torn ACL. She hit .520 with 14 kills and 15 blocks, making just one hitting error in 25 attempts.
• Junior Annie Luhrsen, the 2008 Big East Freshman of the Year while playing at UConn, begins her first year as the starting setter. Luhrsen averaged 11.80 assists and 2.70 digs per set in the opening weekend. She was a presence at the net with eight blocks assists and eight kills in 18 swings (.329 attack percentage).
• Freshman 6-6 Liz McMahon, the nation's third-ranked recruit, started all three matches at right side and had four kills and three blocks vs. St. Mary's.
Schedule loaded with ranked teams: Illinois is one of seven Big Ten teams ranked in the AVCA Coaches poll with two more teams receiving votes. Illinois opponents in the rankings include #2 Penn State, #5 Nebraska, #11 Minnesota, #13 Purdue, #21 Dayton, #22 Ohio State and #24 Michigan. Tennessee, Tulsa, St. Mary's, Cal Poly, Northwestern and Michigan State also receiving votes.
• Of the Illini's 31 matches, 24 will be against teams ranked or receiving votes in the initial AVCA poll.
Illinois returns two All-Americans
Illinois brings back a pair of All-Americans from the 2010 season in seniors Michelle Bartsch and Colleen Ward. The duo also earned Preseason All-Big Ten accolades.
Bartsch, who earns the honor for the third straight season, was a third team All-America choice in 2010 as well as earning first team All-Midwest Region and All-Big Ten accolades. She was MVP of the Time Warner Cable Invitational following Illinois' victory over then No. 3 Texas. Bartsch ranked seventh in kills per set (3.56) and ninth in points per set (4.11) in the Big Ten and recorded seven straight double digit kills matches to end the season.
Ward was a second team All-America selection in 2010 as well as collecting first team All-Big Ten and All-Midwest honors. She set Illinois' single-match ace record with nine aces vs. BYU and was named to three all-tournament teams. In the Big Ten, she ranked third in kills (3.99 per set) and points (4.50 per set) and tallied six matches with at least 20 kills, including 27 in the NCAA second round (4th most by an Illinois player in an NCAA match).
Illinois picked second in the Big Ten
Illinois, who has placed second in the Big Ten each of the past two seasons, is picked to finish in that spot again by the conference coaches. The Illini are tied for second with Nebraska in the coaches' preseason poll which ranks the top six teams in the league.
Eight-time defending Big Ten champion Penn State is the favorite with Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan State rounding out the top six in the at order.
Illini boasted nation's third ranked recruiting class
Illinois' 2011 four-person class is ranked No. 3 nationally by prepvolleyball.com, coming on the heels of the fifth-rated class in 2010. The members of the Class of 2007, who just completed their Illinois careers, were the sixth-best in the nation.
Illinois is ranked behind only Texas and four-time defending national champion Penn State. The Illini went 1-1 against both teams a year ago. Rounding out the top 10 are Washington, UCLA, California, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pepperdine and USC. The Big Ten has six total teams in the top 30 - Illinois (3), Wisconsin (7), Nebraska (13), Purdue (14), Ohio State (24) and Minnesota (30).
Team loaded with Top 60 talent
The Illini have 11 players on the roster who were top 60 products in their respective classes. Liz McMahon, the No 3 player inteh class is the highest ranked recruit in school history. McMahon (No. 3 in the class), Jocelynn Birks (26), Morganne Criswell (33) and Ali Stark (53) joins middle blocker Anna Dorn (6), outside hitter Colleen Ward (7), outside hitter Michelle Bartsch (16), outside hitter Jazmine Orozco (33), outside hitter Jessica Jendryk (45), middle blocker Erin Johnson (57) and libero Jennifer Bonilla (60) as top 60 players.
Who is that at libero?
Fans may recognize the face, but not the name at libero. Playing last year as Jennifer Bonilla, her birth name, the Reseda, Calif., native changed her name to Jennifer Beltran right before the season. Beltran grew up in a tough area of Los Angeles and befriended her kindergarten teacher Gustavo Beltran, who got her on the right path and into volleyball. Over time, the young then Bonilla began living with Gustavo and his wife Virna and eventually adopted them as her parents. For the complete story visit http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/090910aac.html.
• Beltran was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last year and set the Illinois single-season digs record with 623.
Illinois creating quite a home court advantage
• The Illini had its first sellout since 1992 when 4,141 saw Illinois top Penn State in five sets on Sept. 24, 2010. 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 was 14-1 at home in 2010 and 41-5 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 the Illini have qualified for the NCAA Tournament, they have a 244-46 home record (.841).
Defeating top-five teams: Illinois posted multiple victories over top-five opponents for the first time in school history in 2010 with victories over No. 2 Texas and No. 2 Penn State.
