Nov. 12, 2014
Champaign, Ill. - The Fighting Illini volleyball team is proud to announce the signing of three nationally-ranked players to National Letters of Intent. The incoming class features players from around the country who each play a different position. Head coach Kevin Hambly is pleased to welcome Ali Bastianelli, a middle blocker from Marysville, Michigan; Jordyn Poulter, a setter from Aurora, Colorado; and Beth Prince, an outside hitter from Avon, Indiana. The well-rounded signing class includes two top-10 recruits, including the nation's top-ranked setter, as well as the former National Freshman of the Year, according to PrepVolleyball.com.
Ali Bastianelli comes to the Illini from Marysville, Michigan, where she led the Marysville Vikings to a fourth-place finish at States in 2011 and an eighth-place result in 2012. Bastianelli slammed 21 kills last Thursday night to help the Vikings claim their 26th district title in 27 years on Nov. 6 with a sweep of Lutheran North, then set a new school record with 34 kills on Tuesday night to propel her team (47-7-1) past Armada into the Class B Regional Finals.
Rated the No. 10 recruit in her class according to PrepVolleyball.com's list of "Senior Aces," Bastianelli was named an Under Armour High School First-Team All-American on Nov. 5, averaging 5.2 kills and 1.5 blocks per set while hitting .349 with 65 service aces during the regular season this fall. Bastianelli was named the Most Improved Player on the Vikings after her first season in 2011, then earned back-to-back MIVCA All-Region as well as Second-Team All-State honors over the next two seasons. Voted team MVP as a junior, Bastianelli and is now Marysville team captain. A star in the classroom, Bastianelli is a four-time Academic All-MAC selection and an Honor Roll member.
A four-year player for the Legacy Volleyball Club, the middle blocker led her team to a perfect 13-0 record to claim the 2013 AAU 16 Open National Championship, earning herself AAU All-America honors. Legacy followed with a first-place finish at the 2014 Mizuno Sports Performance National Junior Classic in Chicago, where Bastianelli was named MVP. Legacy placed fifth at AAU Nationals and sixth at Junior Olympics in 2014 after taking seventh at JO's in 2013. Bastianelli was then named the Most Valuable Player of the Northcoast Power League in 2014.
Hambly on Bastianelli: "The thing I love about Ali is that when we first recruited her, she was just an athlete trying to figure it out. She is a ferocious competitor and has been competitive in combat karate, which means she is not afraid and has been kicked in the face. She brings that kind of toughness to the court, and when you watch her she is a great blocker. She has really turned into a nice attacker with great range. She is a player that when it gets tighter and the competition gets better, she gets better and always seems to make a play at the end of games. I am optimistic that she is going to be a great competitor at the college level and will turn into a 2-way kind of middle that will bring us a lot of offense and blocks."
Jordyn Poulter travels the furthest distance to join the Illini, hailing from Aurora, Colorado. Rated the No. 3 recruit in the country and the nation's best setter, Poulter earned the Best Setter Award at the 2014 NORCECA U20 Championship after leading the U.S. Junior National Team to the gold medal in Guatemala last July. No stranger to international competition, Poulter earned the Best Setter Award in Thailand at the 2013 FIVB U18 World Championships, leading the USA Girls Youth National Team to the silver medal, then played for the U.S. U23 Women's National Team at the 2013 FIVB World Championships in Mexico. One year prior, the setter went with the USAV Youth National Team to the European Global Challenge.
A four-year player for Eaglecrest High School, Poulter has totaled 2,529 assists, 716 kills, 664 digs, 385 blocks and 208 aces over 101 career matches. The setter quarterbacked the Raptors to a third-place postseason finish in 2013 after back-to-back top eight finishes in her first two seasons. Listed as a finalist forPrepVolleyball.com's National Freshman of the Year and National Sophomore of the Year, she was included on the "Frosh 59," "Sophomore 79," "Top-50 Junior Recruits" and "Top-100 Senior Aces" lists.
One of 24 players nationally to earn Under Armour High School All-America First-Team honors earlier this month, Poulter was a PrepVolleyball.com All-America Honorable Mention in 2012. A four-time Eaglecrest Tournament All-Tournament player, she earned three First-Team All-Centennial Conference honors and was named to the All-Colorado Volleyball team in 2012 and 2013. A two-time Denver Post Prep Athlete of the Week, Poulter is a four-year Eaglecrest High School Academic Letter Recipient. Outside of school, Poulter has been a member of Front Range Volleyball Club since 2009.
Hambly on Poulter: "Jordyn is one of the more accomplished setters that has come out in the last several years. She has her experience with the Youth National Team and Junior National Team, has won gold medals and has won at all levels. She is a good size for a setter--everyone is looking for a tall setter. But I do not think that her size is what is exciting to me; it's her ability to set the ball that is most exciting. She has great hands, a great presence, and she is one of the best out-of-system setters I've seen. She is a great competitor and tough and serious about the sport. She has really high aspirations, and I'm looking forward to getting her to the gym and seeing what we can get out of her. She is definitely the most accomplished, highest rated setter we've ever had in my time, so it will be exciting to see where she ends up in her career."
Beth Prince joins the Fighting Illini program from Avon, Indiana, where she led the Avon Orioles to back-to-back Indiana State Championships in 2012 and 2013 after a runner-up finish in 2011. A four-year starter, the outside hitter has 1,841 career kills, 658 digs, 225 blocks and 92 service aces over 154 high school matches, averaging 4.4 kills, 1.6 digs and 0.5 blocks per set. Named ESPN Volleyball Freshman of the Year and PrepVolleyball.comNational Freshman of the Year in 2011, the outside hitter was named all-state, all-county and all-conference at the end of all three completed seasons so far. The Indiana Super Team Volleyball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013, she is a two-time MaxPreps.comand two-time PrepVolleyball.comAll-American.
Prince began her sophomore season by breaking Avon's single-match kills record, nailing 31 against Martinsville, then finished the year by setting the single-season record at 505 kills to go along with a personal-best 258 digs and 45 aces. Despite struggling with injuries throughout her high school campaign, Prince eclipsed the Avon career kills record by more than 250 slams. Named to the Under Armour High School All-America Second Team last week, Prince is rated the No. 52 recruit in her class by PrepVolleyball.com.
Outside of school, Prince led the Circle City club team to a third-place finish at the 2013 18 Open, and is now a member of Munciana Volleyball Club under head coach Mike Lingenfelter. A multi-sport athlete, Prince was named to the all-county and all-conference basketball teams. Prince lettered in academics at Avon in 2012 and 2014 and earned an Academic All-State Honorable Mention in 2014.
Hambly on Prince: "I think if Beth wasn't injured she would be ranked higher, but she has been dealing with injury in the last couple of years. She can score; she is a flat-out point scorer and has all kinds of shots--both on the left and right side--and has a great sense of how to score points. She's got a big arm and can hit hard, but she's also got shots and great size and can block really well. We've had a long line of really good players, and she is another one of those kids that could end up being a really good point scorer for us. Time will tell where she plays--she could play right or left for us--and she could develop into a 6-rotation kid and I hope she does. I'm looking forward to getting her in the gym."
