University of Illinois
Marquette
No. 3 Seed Illini Prepped for NCAA Regionals in Huff Hall
December 6, 2018 | Volleyball
First serve against Marquette is set for 11 a.m Friday on ESPNU
| NCAA TOURNAMENT: CHAMPAIGN REGIONAL | |
|---|---|
| Match 34 | Regional Semifinal: Illinois vs. Marquette | Friday, December 7, 2018 | 11 a.m. CT | Huff Hall | Champaign, Ill. TV: ESPNU // WatchESPN | Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats |
| Regional Semifinal: Wisconsin vs. San Diego | Friday, December 7, 2018 | 1:30 p.m. CT | Huff Hall | Champaign, Ill. Video: ESPN3 // WatchESPN | Livestats |
| Regional Final | Saturday, December 8, 2018 | 3 p.m. CT | Huff Hall | Champaign, Ill. TV: ESPNU // WatchESPN | Radio: WDWS 1400 (if Illinois is playing) | Livestats |
| Related Links | NCAA Championship Central | Regional Tournament Central | Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket |
| Full Match Notes | Illinois | Marquette | Wisconsin | San Diego |
| Statistics | Illinois | Marquette | Wisconsin | San Diego |
| Series History | Marquette: Illinois leads, 4-0 Last: Illinois won 3-1 on 12/7/2013 Streak: Won 4 | Results Wisconsin: Illinois leads, 48-39-1 Last: Illinois won 3-1 on 10/13/2018 Streak: Won 1 | Results San Diego: Series is tied, 1-1 Last: Illinois lost 3-1 on 9/7/2013 Streak: Lost 1 | Results |
| Tickets | Ticket Information | Ticketing Website All-Session Reserved Seating is SOLD OUT All-Session General Admission: BUY Single-Session General Admission: BUY |
| Parking & Shuttle Info | Parking Information MTD Volleyball tranSPORT Shuttle | Shuttle Information All fans can park & ride MTD's tranSPORT service for free from the Bielfeldt Athletic Admin Building to Huff Hall. Shuttle Schedule Friday: MTD Volleyball tranSPORT service begins at 9 a.m. and ends 1 hour after the completion of the second match Saturday: MTD Volleyball tranSPORT service begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends 1 hour after the completion of the third match. |
| Social Media | @IlliniVball  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube 
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ILLINI PREPPED FOR NCAA REGIONAL ACTION
With back-to-back wins over Eastern Michigan (3-0) and Louisville (3-1) the weekend, the No. 3 seeded and ranked Illinois volleyball team earned its second-straight trip to the trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 and its ninth Regional appearances in the last 11 seasons.
The Illini will face 14th-seeded Maquette in the Champaign Regional Semifinal on Friday (December 7) at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU in Huff Hall.
No. 6 seed Wisconsin will meet San Diego in the other Regional Semifinal on Friday (December 7) at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3.
Winners of Friday's matches will then meet in the Regional Final on Saturday (December 8) at 3 p.m. CT on ESPNU for the chance to advance to the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 13 & 15.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illinois volleyball team has met Marquette and San Diego a total of six times, while they have faced fellow Big Ten Conference foe Wisconsin on 88 occasions in program history.
The Illini own a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles and will face MU five years to the day of the Illini earning a 3-1 win the NCAA Second Round in Huff Hall on December 7, 2013.
The Illini and the Toreros have met just twice before, with each team taking a victory in the series. The last time the two schools met USD came away with a 3-1 win on September 7, 2013 in Ames, Iowa.
The Illini lead the all-time series with Wisconsin, 48-39-1 and are 22-17 at home against the Badgers. The two teams split the two meetings in 2018, with the Badgers taking a 3-1 win in Huff Hall on October 3, before the Illini returned the favor in the UW Field House with a 3-1 victory - including a 35-33 third set in favor of UI - that marked the first win over the Badgers since 2013.
NCAA FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS RECAP
Illinois opened its 2018 NCAA Tournament run with a 3-0 sweep of tournament newcomer Eastern Michigan on Friday night, with junior Ashlyn Fleming pacing the Illini with a team-high eight kills and no errors on nine swings for a .889 hitting percentage as well as four blocks. The Illini registered their third-highest hitting percentage as a team with a .455 clip, with senior Jordyn Poulter totaling 24 assists as well as three blocks on the night.
The Illini then punched their ticket to the NCAA Sweet 16 with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Louisville on Saturday night. With the win, the Illini improved to 30-3 on the season and push its winning streak a season-best 15 matches, while making their 18th NCAA Regional appearance in program history and the second in two seasons for head coach Chris Tamas.
Junior Jacqueline Quade led the Illini with her 12th career double-double and eighth of the season with a team-high 14 kills to go along with 12 digs, while Poulter came within three blocks of a triple-double with 44 assists, 10 digs and equaled a season-high with seven blocks – including a career-high three solo stuffs.
The Illini block was dominate at the net as UI registered a season-high 19 blocks to Louisville's five, with senior Ali Bastianelli posting a season-high 10 stuffs in the win, with jFleming adding six blocks and sophomore Megan Cooney contributing five on the night.
Sophomore Morgan O'Brien led the Illini floor defense with a match-high 25 digs as the Cardinals were held to a .075 team hitting percentage.
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.
FIVE ILLINI COLLECT AVCA ALL-REGION ACCOLADES
Four members of the Illini earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region honors when the organization announced the accolades on Tuesday (December 4), with senior Jordyn Poulter and head coach Chris Tamas being named the Northeast Region's Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. Poulter, along with senior Ali Bastianelli and junior Jacqueline Quade were also named to the AVCA All-Northeast Region team.
It is the first time in program history that a player and a coach has garnered Player and Coach of the Year accolades. It is also the third-straight season that the senior duo has been named All-Region, with Quade nabbing her first All-Region accolade of her career. It is the fifth time in six years that the Illini have had at least two representatives on the All-Region Team and first time since 2010 that the Illini have had three honorees on the list.
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.
ILLINI MOVES UP TO NO. 3 IN AVCA POLL
For the first time since the 2011 season, Illinois moved into the top-five of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 poll with a No. 4 ranking in the October 29 poll and held that ranking for four weeks before moving to No. 3 on Monday.
The 2011 Illini concluded the season ranked at No. 2 after a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the 2018 season, the last time the Illini were ranked at No. 4 was on September 5, 2011, with the Illini reaching the No. 1 ranking on September 26, 2011 and staying atop the polls for four-straight weeks.
UI opened the 2018 season with a No. 12 ranking in the AVCA Preseason poll and have gradually moved up the polls. Following the opening weekend, UI moved to No. 11 for two weeks and then jumped into the top-10 for the first time since the 2015 season with a No. 8 ranking for two weeks. From there, the Illini owned the No. 7 spot in the polls for four weeks, before moving to No. 6 on October 22.
Illinois is joined by six other Big Ten schools ranked the AVCA Poll this week and are the second-highest behind No. 2 Minnesota, with No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 12 Purdue and No. 18 Michigan also making appearances in the rankings.
Along with their conference foes, the Illini have faced four other opponents in the top-25 or are receiving votes, including No. 9 Creighton, No. 22 Washington, Colorado (RV) and Northern Iowa (RV). Also receiving votes is potential Saturday opponent Louisville.
ILLINI RANKED NO. 2 IN NCAA RPI
In the first NCAA RPI ranking of the 2018 season - released on October 1, the Illini led the Big Ten with a debut ranking of No. 3, sitting just behind No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 BYU and moved up one spot on October 29 with a No. 2 ranking and stay there for three weeks until moving to No. 4 last week. The Illini then finished the regular season with a No. 2 ranking in the NCAA RPI.
There are nine Illini opponents in the top 25, including No. 4 Minnesota, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Penn State, No. 13 Creighton, No. 16 Northern Iowa, No. 20 Purdue, No. 21 Michigan and No. 25 Washington.
Of all of the Illini's opponents only five foes - UNCW (No. 140), Northern Colorado (No. 141), Cleveland State (No. 148), Eastern Michigan (No. 153) and Rutgers (No. 204) are out of the Top 125, with only six opponents ranking out of the top 95.
