CARDINAL CLASSIC
Match 4: Kent State	Friday, September 1, 2017 | 3 p.m. CT | Louisville, Ky. | Cardinal Arena Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats | Video: None
Match 5: #24 Western Kentucky	Saturday, September 2, 2017 | 9:30 a.m. CT | Louisville, Ky. | Cardinal Arena Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats | Video: None
Match 6: Louisville	Saturday, September 2, 2017 | 6:30 p.m. CT | Louisville, Ky. | Cardinal Arena Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats | Video: ACC Network Extra
Full Match Notes	Illinois  | Western Kentucky
Statistics	Illinois | Kent State | Western Kentucky | Louisville
Series History	Kent State: First Meeting Western Kentucky: First Meeting Louisville: Illinois leads, 11-4 | Last: Illinois won, 3-1, on 12/5/2015 | Streak Won 2 | Results
Social Media	@IlliniVball  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube

ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD

The Illinois volleyball team have played just one team in the Cardinal Classic field, facing off against host Louisville 15 times prior to this weekend.

The Illini own an 11-4 record against the Cardinals and took a 3-1 win in the two teams' last meeting in an NCAA Second Round match on December 5, 2015 on the Cardinal's home court.

This weekend will be the first meeting with Kent State and with Western Kentucky in program history.

Illini Take Home Bobcat Classic Championship

It was an impressive start to the 2017 season as the Illini swept their competition at the Montana State Bobcat Classic in Bozeman, Mont., last weekend (August 25-26). The Illini started with a quick 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-12) win over Gonzaga on Friday morning, before facing slightly tougher competition from the host Bobcats in a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-9, 25-21) victory. UI then finished up the undefeated weekend by defeating Air Force in straight-sets (25-10, 25-20, 25-14) in the unofficial tournament championship.

Junior Ali Bastianelli was named the tournament MVP after totaling 27 kills on a .558 hitting percentage, 25 blocks and nine digs, while classmate Blayke Hranickaand sophomore Jacqueline Quade also garnered all-tournament honors for their efforts in the two-day event. Quade paced the Illini offense with 41kills on the weekend, to go along with 12 blocks and 11 digs, with Hranicka adding 20 kills and 13 blocks.

As a team, the Illini out-blocked their opponents, 42-9, while also holding the three teams to a combined .050 hitting percentage on the weekend.

Tamas Earns First Collegiate Head Coaching Win

Along with the Fighting Illini opening the 2017 campaign with a win, first-year head coach Chris Tamas earned his first collegiate victory as a head coach. The Illini dominated Gonzaga en route to a straight-sets win in Shroyer Gym on the campus of Montana State to start the season.

Bastianelli Tabbed B1G Defensive POW

Following an impressive start to the 2017 season, Fighting Illini volleyball junior Ali Bastianelli earned the year's first Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor, the league announced on Monday (August 28) afternoon. After being named the Bobcat Classic Tournament MVP in the Illini's opening weekend tournament, she collects her third career conference defensive player of the week accolade after earning the honor once each of the past two seasons.

Her tournament highlights include:

• Posted nine kills on 11 swings and no errors for an .818 hitting percentage to go along with nine blocks, including two solo stuffs against Gonzaga.
• Notched a career-high 17 kills on 25 attacks and only two errors for a .600 hitting percentage as well as a match-high nine blocks against the tournament host Montana State.
• Led the Illini with seven blocks against Air Force.

Quade, Bastianelli Notch Career Marks

Sophomore Jacqueline Quade and Ali Bastianelli registered a pair of career performances in the Illini's win over Montana State on Saturday night. Quade led the Illini with a career-high 19 kills on 36 swings for a .389 hitting percentage, while also tying her career-high with five blocks. Bastianelli also turned in a career-high with 17 kills on 25 attacks and only two errors for a .600 hitting percentage to go along with a match-high nine stuffs.

Poulter Posts Season's First Double-Double

Junior Jordyn Poulter registered the first Illini double-double of the season and her 11th of her career with 48 assists and a match-high 15 digs against Montana State on Saturday night, while setting the Illini offense to a .288 clip, including a .481 mark in the fourth set.

Illini in the National Rankings

After recording 42 blocks on the opening weekend, the Illini rank first in the NCAA in blocks per set at a 4.20 clip and are sixth in total blocks. Individually, junior Ali Bastianelli leads the nation with 2.50 blocks per set and is seventh with 25 total blocks.

Bastianelli's .558 hitting percentage also ranks sixth in the country, while as a team, the Illini rank 13th with a .318 clip.

The Illini's defense was strong through the first weekend as they sit third with a .050 opponent hitting percentage.

TAMAS NAMED EIGHTH VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH

Following the departure of former head coach Kevin Hambly to Stanford in January, Director of Athletes Josh Whitman selected Chris Tamas as the new head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program on February 10, 2017.  He is the eighth head coach in the history of the program.

Tamas came to Illinois following many years learning from some of the game's great coaches, including John Cook at Nebraska and former U.S. National Team coaches Hugh McCutcheon and Ron Larsen. In all, Tamas is in his ninth year of collegiate coaching including two years at Nebraska, two years at Cal Poly, two years at Minnesota and two years at UC-Riverside.

Tamas is a 2003 graduate of the University of the Pacific with a degree in sports sciences. He was a four-year starter for the Tigers and a unanimous AVCA All-American first team selection and team MVP during his 2003 senior season. In four years with the U.S. Men's National Team (1999, 2003, 2005-06), Tamas made 34 appearances, and, in 1999, helped the squad to a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Havana. As national team captain in 2003, Tamas helped lead the United State to a bronze medal at the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea.

A training camp invitee for the U.S. squad that eventually captured the 2008 Olympic gold medal, Tamas also helped U.S. teams to silver at the 2005 World Grand Champions Cup in Japan and, as a setter, to a gold at the 2006 NORCECA Championships in Mexicali, Mexico.

As a professional, Tamas competed for six years overseas with clubs Protect Eye Orion (Netherlands), Antigos Alunos (Portugal), Real Grupo (Spain), Erdemir (Turkey), Dionysos (Cyprus) and Isku (Finland). In Finland and Cyprus, Tamas helped his clubs to national cup championships.

BASTIANELLI, POULTER TABBED PRESEASON ALL-B1G

Illinois volleyball juniors Ali Bastianelli and Jordyn Poulter earned Preseason All-Big Ten honors as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, the conference announced on Tuesday (August 15). It was the second-straight season Poulter earned preseason all-conference accolades and the first such award for Bastianelli.

The duo had breakout seasons as sophomores, earning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-America honors, as well as AVCA All-Northeast Region Team and All-Big Ten accolades.

One of the premier blockers in the nation in 2016, Bastianelli finished the regular season as the NCAA and Big Ten Conference leader with 1.79 blocks per set and 201 total blocks on the year, while also pacing the league in conference matches with 1.79 stuffs per set and 129 total blocks. She also ranked 12th in the Big Ten and was second on the Illini with a .326 hitting percentage in overall action and was tied for 15th with 17 service aces in conference play. The Marysville, Mich., native started in all 31 matches for the Illini, totaling 197 kills and 30 digs and earned Billiken Invitational All-Tournament Team honors as well as FloVolleyball Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolades a season ago.

The leader of the Illini offense, Poulter averaged 10.63 assists per set to rank sixth in the Big Ten and 51st in the NCAA after totaling 1,190 assists on the season and leading the Illini to a .251 hitting percentage, which ranked 47th in the nation following the conclusion of regular season. She upped her game in league play and finished fifth with 10.89 assists per set in Big Ten matches. One of the most consistent players for the Illini, Poulter ranked second on the team with 112 blocks, was fifth with 166 digs and was efficient in the attack with 79 kills in 164 swings and only 22 errors for a .348 hitting percentage. She also garnered all-tournament accolades at the Illini Classic and the Nike Invitational and earned Big Ten Setter of the Week honors on Oct. 17.

ILLINI PICKED NINTH IN B1G COACHES POLL

The Fighting Illini were picked to finish ninth in the league standings in 2017. Penn State was chosen as the conference favorite for the 2017 volleyball season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, while NCAA semifinalist and defending Big Ten Champion Nebraska was picked to finish second. Minnesota was tabbed third, Michigan State was voted to finish fourth and Wisconsin rounded out the top five of the preseason poll in fifth place.

2017 RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 7

The 2017 Illinois volleyball recruiting class has been ranked as the seventh-best class in the country as rated by PrepVolleyball.com's John Tawa.

The nine-member class includes setter Kylie Bruder (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), outside hitters Megan Cooney (Topeka, Kan.), Emily Hollowell (Little Elm, Texas), Kylie Kuyava-Deberg (Hudson, Iowa) and Marijke Van Dyke (Munster, Ind.), middle blocker Tyanna Omazic (Lenexa, Kan.) and defensive specialists Morgan O'Brien (Libertyville, Ill.), Lexie Smith (Lucas, Texas) and Emmaline Walters (Huntington Beach, Calif.).

PrepVolleyball.com's comments on the Fighting Illini's 2017 recruiting class:

"We have a large and talented group in 2017," said new Illinois head coach Chris Tamas. "They bring in a mix of skill sets that are exciting for any coach to work with."

Omazic, one of four recruits among PrepVolleyball.com's Top 100 Senior Aces, led her high school team to a state title last fall and helped PVA earn an 18 Open bid this spring. No. 51 in the Senior Aces, Tamas says Omazic is "as good off of one foot as anyone I've seen for her age." She should start immediately opposite junior Ali Bastianelli.

Tamas says that the Fighting Illini's four pin hitters, three of whom were Top 100 Senior Aces, have a wealth of all-around and specialized skills. Kuyava-Deberg, Cooney and Hollowell have carried big loads for their high school and club teams, playing all six rotations and being focal points of their teams' offense. Kuyava-Deberg, Senior Ace No. 15, is very long, has a scorer's mentality and the tools to terminate at will. Cooney, Senior Ace No. 35, is very physical and her blocking prowess makes her a natural on the right side. Van Dyke, No. 66 in the Senior Aces, has been hampered by injuries over her prep career but when healthy is an elite athlete with the ability to score and strong blocking skills. Hollowell, a Top 250 Senior Ace, is long and can contribute on either pin as well as in the middle.

Bruder, a Top 250 Senior Ace, has spent a season playing for former Olympian Heather Bown, and has the one skill that is difficult to teach setters: great hands. She has a good feel for the game and consistently puts up hittable sets. Three great back row specialists complete the class.

O'Brien, Smith and Walters bring speed, the ability to keep the ball off the floor and terrific passing prowess. "Overall, I am very excited about the skill and the depth of this class," said Tamas. "They will have an immediate impact on the team."