CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following a dominating weekend at the CSU Invitational for Illinois volleyball, sophomore Megan Cooney was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week and senior Jordyn Poulter collected her second-straight Setter of the Week accolade, the conference announced on Monday (September 10).
This marks the second and third weekly conference honors the Illini have received this season, the first career Player of the Week plaudit for the sophomore and the fifth career Setter of the Week award for the senior.
The duo led the Illini to a sweep of its competition in Cleveland, going a perfect 9-0 in sets to bring home the CSU Invitational Championship. With the three wins, the No. 8 Illini moved to 8-0 on the season, marking the best start since the 2011 squad opened their season with a 20-0 record.
The Tournament MVP, Cooney totaled 39 kills for a 4.33 kills per set average, while only committing five errors on 69 swings for a .493 hitting percentage and added six blocks. The sophomore hit double figured in all three matches, including pacing the Illini offense against Bowling Green and UC Irvine.
The Topeka, Kansas native opened her tournament with a match-high 14 kills on a .462 hitting percentage and three blocks against BGSU, before posting 10 kills on a .318 attack clip and three blocks in a win over host Cleveland State. She then wrapped up the weekend with a match-high 15 kills on 21 attacks while not committing an error for a .714 hitting clip versus UCI.
Poulter registered a 11.78 assists per set average for the tournament with 106 total assists to direct the Illini to a .383 team hitting percentage – with the team hitting at least .308 in all nine sets. She added a 3.11 digs per set mark with 28 digs, to go along with six blocks, two kills and two service aces.
Against BGSU, Poulter quarterbacked the Illini to their highest hitting percentage of the season with a .400 mark as she tallied 37 assists to go along with three blocks in the win. She continued her strong play by recording her third double-double of the season and 26th of her career with 35 assists and 12 digs, while the team posted a .384 hitting percentage against CSU. The senior wrapped up the weekend with 34 assists and eight digs versus UCI, with the team posting a .364 attack clip – with the team posting a weekend-best .524 mark in the second set.
After opening the 2018 season on the road for the first three weeks, Cooney, Poulter and the Illini return to Huff Hall this weekend for the 34th Annual Illini Classic on September 14-15. To purchase tickets or for more information, click HERE.
For more Fighting Illini volleyball news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniVBall on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
