| NCAA TOURNAMENT: NCAA NATIONAL SEMIFINAL |
| Match 36 | National Semifinal: Illinois vs. Nebraska |
Thursday, December 13, 2018 | 8 p.m. CT | Target Center | Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: ESPN // WatchESPN | Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats |
| National Semifinal: Stanford vs. BYU |
Thursday, December 13, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT | Target Center | Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: ESPN // WatchESPN | Livestats |
| National Championship Final |
Saturday, December 13, 2018 | 8 p.m. CT | Target Center | Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: ESPN2 // WatchESPN | Radio: WDWS 1400 (if Illinois is playing) | Livestats |
| Related Links |
NCAA Championship Central | Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket | Pre-Championship Press Conference | Quotes (PDF) |
| Full Match Notes |
Illinois | Nebraska | Stanford |
| Statistics |
Illinois | Nebraska | Stanford | BYU |
| Series History |
Nebraska: Illinois trails, 8-25-1 Last: Illinois won 3-1 on 10/27/2018 Streak: Won 1 | Results
Stanford: Illinois trails, 0-9 Last: Illinois lost 0-3 on 9/8/2017 Streak: Lost 9 | Results
BYU: Illinois leads, 3-2 Last: Illinois won 3-0 on 8/26/201 Streak: Won 3 | Results |
| Tickets |
Ticket Information |
| Social Media |
@IlliniVball  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube 
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ILLINI ADVANCES TO FOURTH-EVER NCAA FINAL FOUR
The third-seeded and No. 3 ranked Illinois volleyball team will make its fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals when they meet seventh-seeded and No. 6 ranked Nebraska on Thursday (December 13) night at 8 p.m. CT at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The match will be televised on ESPN and will be streamed online via WatchESPN, with Paul Sunderland, Karch Kiraly and Holly Rowe on the call.
Top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Stanford will meet fourth-seeded and No. 4 ranked BYU in the first semifinal on the night at 6 p.m. CT, also on ESPN.
Winners of Thursday's matches will then meet in the National Championship Final on Saturday (December 15) at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
ILLINOIS HISTORY IN NCAA SEMIFINALS
The Illini have advanced to the National Semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history and the first time since the 2011 team reached the NCAA National Final, posting a 3-2 win over seventh-seeded and No. 1 ranked USC in the National Semifinal, before falling 3-1 to ninth-seeded and No. 4 ranked UCLA in their first National Championship appearance in program history.
The Illini also reached back-to-back Final Fours in 1987 and 1988 under head coach Mike Hebert. In both instances, the Illini lost in the semifinals to Hawaii -- in three sets in 1987 in Indianapolis and in 1988 in four sets in Indianapolis.
The Illini will take a 32-3 record in the semifinal round, marking the first 30-win season since 2011. It is the eighth time in program history the Illini have registered 30 wins or more, with the 32 wins tied for fourth-most wins in school history behind only 1985 (39), 1977(38), 1986 (36), 1992 (32) and 2011 (32).
The Illini will also be riding a 17-match win streak into Thursday's semifinal against Nebraska. The school record is 30 matches from August 29 to October 26, 1986.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illinois volleyball team owns some history with two of the three opponents in the National Championship field, with its Thursday opponent very familiar in Big Ten member Nebraska and former head coach Kevin Hambly at the helm of Stanford and in his second season with the Cardinal.
The Illini trail in the all-time series with Nebraska, 8-25-1 and are 0-6-1 in neutral sites, but are coming off their first win over the Huskers since 2014 after taking a 3-1 win in Lincoln on October 28 at the Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers took an earlier meeting this season, 3-1, in Huff Hall on September 29.
The Illini trail in the all-time series with Stanford, 0-9, and last met the Cardinal when Hanbly and his team visited Huff Hall a season ago in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge on September 8, 2017.
BYU and the Illini have just met five times previously, with UI holding a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. The last time the two teams met came in 2011 with the Illini sweeping the Cougars in Provo, Utah.
POULTER, QUADE, BASTIANELLI NAMED AVCA ALL-AMERICA
Seniors Jordyn Poulter and Ali Bastianelli and junior Jacqueline Quadecollected American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honors, the organization announced on Wednesday (December 12), with Poulter and Quade earning First-Team accolades and Bastianelli named to the Third-Team.
This is the third-straight AVCA All-America honor for the senior duo, with the pair being named honorable mention as sophomores and third-teamers a season ago, with Quade collecting her first All-America accolades in her career.
It is the first time in program history that Illinois has had multiple first-team honors in a season, with Poulter and Quade representing the sixth and seventh Illini players to earn first-team accolades. The three honorees also marks the second-most All-America accolades in program history, tying 2010's three honorees and coming one short of 2009's four selections.
NCAA REGIONAL RECAP
Illinois earned its first trip to the NCAA Final Four with a pair of wins over No. 14 seed Marquette, 3-0, and No. 6 seed Wisconsin in a raucous Huff Hall over the weekend.
Junior Jacqueline Quade paced the Illini with 37 kills on a .341 hitting percentage to go along with 11 digs, highlighted by a 25-kill performance against the Badgers in the Regional Final on Saturday night.
Senior Ali Bastianelli ranked second on the team with 18 kills on a team-high .406 attack clip, while leading the Illini block attack with 10 stuffs on the weekend, includig four solo blocks.
Senior Jordyn Poulter dished out 89 assists for a 12.71 assists per set mark as the Illini hit at a .318 clip on the weekend. Poulter also added 10 digs, six kills and four blocks in the two Regional wins.
For their effort, the trio was named to the All-Region team, with Poulter being voted the region's most outstanding player.
Also showing big contributions were junior Ashlyn Fleming with 16 kills on a .393 hitting percentage, five blocks and a team-high three service aces, and freshman Taylor Kuper with a team-high 22 digs for a 3.14 digs per set mark.
LAST TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Illinois is making its 25th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their ninth of the last 11 seasons. The Illini own a 42-24 all-time record and 30-4 mark at home in postseason play. The No. 3 seed also marks the 17th occasion that the Illini have earned a national seed and is the highest seeding since Illinois earned the No. 3 seed in 2011. The Illini have advanced to Regionals on eight occasions since 2008, including a run to the National Championship match in 2011.
Prior to this season, the Illini's last NCAA Tournament appearance came a season ago, when UI advanced to their 17th regional in program history. Illinois took back-to-back five-set thrillers over Hawaii and No. 8 seed and host Washington in the first & second round in Seattle, before falling to an experienced Michigan State squad, 3-1, in the NCAA Penn State Regional Semifinal.
POULTER NAMED BIG TEN CO-SETTER OF THE YEAR; ILLINI QUARTET EARN ALL-B1G HONORS
Illinois volleyball senior setter Jordyn Poulter was named the Big Ten Co-Setter of the Year, highlighting the five Illini honored when the Big Ten Conference announced its postseason awards on November 28.
Senior Ali Bastianelli and junior Jacqueline Quade joined Poulter as unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten First-Team, with junior Ashlyn Fleming garnering Second-Team accolades and redshirt-junior Beth Prince chosen as Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Poulter becomes the first-ever Illini to earn Setter of the Year accolades and is the first Illini to win a major Big Ten award since 2008 when Michelle Bartsch was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The senior duo of Poulter and Bastianelli joins a prestigious list of Illini who have earned All-Big Ten honors three times in their careers, including four-time honoree Mary Eggers (1985-88) and three-time selections Nancy Brookhart (1987-89) and Jocelynn Birks (2013-15).
It is also the seventh time in program history that the Illini have garnered three All-Big Ten First-Team honors and the first since 2010.
