University of Illinois
Stanford
Illini Volleyball Heads West for Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge
September 1, 2016 | Volleyball
Illinois travels to Boulder, Colo., for first road trip, will face No. 9 Stanford, Colorado
| Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge | |
|---|---|
| Match 4: No. 9 Stanford |
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 | 4 p.m. CT | Boulder, Colo. | Coors Events Center Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats | Video: Colorado Stream |
| Match 5: Colorado |
Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 | 7 p.m. CT | Boulder, Colo. | Coors Events Center Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats | TV: Pac-12 Network |
| Full Match Notes | Illinois | Stanford | Colorado |
| Statistics | Illinois (2-1) | Stanford (1-1) | Colorado (2-1) |
| Series History | Stanford: Illinois trails, 0-7 | Last: Stanford won, 3-1, on 9/4/15 | Streak: L7 | Results Colorado: Illinois leads 4-2 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on 9/5/15 | Streak: W3 | Results |
| Tickets | Saturday-Buy Online | Sunday-Buy Online |
| Social Media | @IlliniVball  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube 
|
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illinois volleyball team is set to face a pair of familiar opponents this weekend as No. 9 Stanford and Colorado make an appearance on the Illini schedule for the third-straight season.
The Illini and the Cardinal will meet in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge for the third-consecutive year, while UI faced the Buffs in last season's Challenge and in the Creighton Classic in 2014.
The Illini are 0-7 all-time against Stanford, with the Cardinal in the top 10 in the polls in all six matchups since the AVCA rankings began. In last season's meeting, the Illini opened the match with a 25-16 win in the first set, before Stanford took the next three (27-25, 25-18, 25-21) for the 3-1 win.
The Orange and Blue lead the all-time series with Colorado, 4-2, and have won three-straight against the Buffs. In last season's meeting in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, the Illin swept then-No. 21 CU, 25-13, 25-14, 25-17, for the program's 900th win.
BIG TEN/PAC-12 CHALLENGE
The Illini will hit the road for the first time in 2016 for the third-annual Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. This season's Challenge features three nationallly-ranked teams, including No. 9 Stanford, No. 13 Penn State and the 17th-ranked Illini.
Hosted in Boulder, Colo., by the University of Colorado, the Illini and PSU will take on the Buffs and the Cardinal in a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
Illinois holds a 1-3 all-time record in the Challenge, falling to UCLA (0-3) and Stanford (2-3) in the inuagural event in 2014, before spliting with Colorado (W, 3-0) and Stanford (L, 1-3) a season ago.
ILLINI CLASSIC RECAP
For the third-straight season, the Fighting Illini earned the Illini Classic title after finishing the opening weekend with a 2-1 record. Illinois posted wins over Arkansas (25-19, 25-13, 25-22) and Xavier (21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21), before falling to Missouri State in five sets (22-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-15, 10-15). With three teams tied with a 2-1 record, the Illini earned the title on a set-win percentage tiebreaker.
Senior middle blocker Katie Stadick was named Most Valuable Player after registering 33 kills on 60 swings for a .433 hitting percentage and 14 blocks in the three matches. Sophomore setter Jordyn Poulter and senior opposite hitter Naya Crittenden joined her on the all-tournament team. Poulter averaged 11.17 assists per set after totaling 134 on the weekend, while also turning in nine kills and a .350 hitting percentage, 17 digs and nine blocks. Crittenden posted 25 kills and a .267 hitting percentage, including a career-high 15 kills against MSU, as well as nine blocks and three digs.
CAREER WEEKEND
Over the weekend, the Illini had a number of players hit career-highs in the season-opening Illini Classic. Senior Michelle Strizak posted her first career double-double with 14 kills and a career-high 10 digs to go along with a career-high two assists against Xavier on Saturday morning, while Naya Crittenden turned in a career-high 15 kills against the Bears later that night.
Jordyn Poulter equaled her career-high with four kills against the Musketeers, while senior defensive specialist Danielle Davis also tied a career-high with three assists against Missouri State.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
As a team, the Illini rank in the top 35 in the NCAA in hitting percentage with a .281 mark, with senior Katie Stadick leading the team with a .433 hitting percentage to rank 58th in the nation and eighth in the Big Ten.
Sophomore setter Jordyn Poulter also sits in the top 50 in assists and assists per set, with her 134 helpers leading the conference and ranking 42nd in the nation. She sits 34th in the NCAA in assists per set with an 11.17 average.
2016 SCHEDULE CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE
The Fighting Illini volleyball consistently plays a demanding schedule year in and year out, with UI playing the most challenging schedule of any team in the NCAA in 2013, followed by the 12th-most difficult slate in 2014, including playing eight matches against teams that finished the season ranked in the top eight.
Last season was no different as the Illini played the 21st-most difficult schedule in the nation, with 10 of the final top 25 teams on its schedule, including six NCAA Regional teams, two Final Four squads and twice against 2015 National Champion, Nebraska.
The Illini continues that streak in 2016, with the Orange & Blue taking on seven teams that appear in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll - including six in the top 15 - in No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 9 Stanford, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 13 Penn State and No. 24 Purdue. Additionally, Illinois has or will face four teams that are receiving votes in Michigan State, Michigan, Oregon and Missouri State.
ILLINI RANKED PRESEASON NO.14
When the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its preseason poll on August 10, the Fighting Illini volleyball team once again made an appearance, coming in at No. 14 in the season's opening top-25 poll.
Illinois returns 10 letterwinners, including a majority of its starters from its 2015 NCAA Sweet 16 team, including Big Ten All-Freshman Team honorees Jordyn Poulter and Ali Bastianelli, as well as junior libero Brandi Donnelly and hard-hitting seniors Katie Stadick,Michelle Strizak and Naya Crittenden. The Illini will also welcome in the No. 22-ranked recruiting class, including a pair of Top 100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces in Kaylin Korte and Jacqueline Quade, as well as NC State transfer Blayke Hranicka.
Illinois' highest opening rank came on Sept. 6, 1988, when the AVCA placed the Illini at No. 2 on the first week of the season following their first-ever trip to the NCAA Semifinals.
Illinois appeared in the top 25 of the AVCA's first poll every season from 1986 to 1994, resurfaced at No. 14 in 1999 then at No. 19 in 2002 and 2004. The Illini have been ranked in the preseason top 25 in all-but-one season under Hambly, while receiving votes in 2013, with five top-10 projections in his eight seasons. The 2016 preseason ranking marks the Illini's 19th year beginning the schedule in the top 25.
2016 RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 22
The 2016 Illinois volleyball recruiting class has garnered a top-25 ranking, coming in as the No. 22 recruiting class in the nation as rated byPrepVolleyball.com.
The ranking continues the Illini recruiting success, with the 2016 class including a pair of Top 100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces in outside hitters Kaylin Korte (No. 35) and Jacqueline Quade (No. 86), as well as defensive specialists Annika Gereau and Caroline Welsh and defensive specialist/setter Kendal Kavanaugh. Korte and Quade were both also named to Volleyball Magazine's Fab 50 list, featuring the top seniors in the class of 2016.
Quade made a splash in her Illini debut over the weekend, registering double figure kills in all three matches at the Illini Classic, as well as securing her first career double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs against Missouri State on Saturday night. Gereau made appearances in all three matches, recording three digs, while Welsh delivered a service ace in her first attempt to go along with four digs.
While not apart of the 2016 signing class, redshirt-freshman Beth Prince also made her Illini debut this weekend after being sidelined with an injury in 2015.
ILLINI DEBUT NEW STAFF IN 2016
It will be an entirely new staff that joins head coach Kevin Hambly on the sidelines this season as assistant coaches Jason Mansfield and Erin Lindsey, director of volleyball operations Jenni Bolduc and volunteer assistant coach Austin D'Amore were hired on during the offseason. Along with the new coaching staff, Misao Tanioka joins the team as the Illini's athletic trainer.
OPENING NIGHT SUCCESS
The Illini have had tremendous success on opening night, going 33-10 all time in the first match of the season. Illinois has lost just one season opener since 1999, starting the new millennium with a 12-match winning streak from 2000-2011, before dropping the 2012 lid-lifter at Dayton. Illinois swept Arkansas at the Illini Classic to open the 2016 campaign.
Illinois is even more successful in home openers, going 37-6 all time in the first home match of the year. The Illini have not lost a home opener in over two decades; after falling to No. 18 New Mexico on Sept. 9, 1994, the Orange and Blue have won their last 21 straight home openers. Since making the move to Huff Hall in 1990, Illinois is 26-1 in the first home match of the season.
POULTER TABBED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
Illinois sophomore setter Jordyn Poulter was named Preseason All-Big Ten, as voted on by the Big Ten coaches. It was the first preseason honor of her career. Poulter made an immediate impact for the Illini in her freshman season, starting 29 of 32 matches at the setter position and earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. She directed the Illini offense with 1,088 assists and recorded eight double-doubles on the season, highlighted by career highs of 59 assists and 21 digs vs. No. 4 Minnesota and a 34-assist, 10-dig performance in an NCAA Tournament first-round victory over Southern Illinois.
Poulter was also named to the B1G/Pac-12 All-Tournament Team and was a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and Big Ten Setter of the Week selection. Following her breakout rookie campaign, she was selected as the Fighting Illini Newcomer of the Year.
HAMBLY'S REGIONAL RUN
Under the leadership of head coach Kevin Hambly, the Illinois volleyball program has seen a run of success in postseason play as the Illini have advanced to an NCAA Regional every season with the exception of one in his seven seasons at the helm. The Illini have advanced to the NCAA Regionals in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and also made run to the National Championship match in 2011.
HAMBLY PRODUCES ALL-AMERICANS
Illinois has 28 All-America honors among 17 players in school history. Nine of those players earned 16 honors with Kevin Hambly on staff. Three of the five First-Team All-Americans have come under Hambly (Laura DeBruler, Colleen Ward, Michelle Bartsch), while recent graduate Jocelynn Birks was a three-time All-American, finishing her 2015 senior campaign as an Honorable Mention selection, to go along with a 2013 Third Team honor with a Second Team award in 2014.
