University of Illinois
Pacific
No. 19 Volleyball Prepped for Bulldog Brawl
September 19, 2019 | Volleyball
| Bulldog Brawl | |
|---|---|
| Match 8: Pacific (6-3) | Friday, September 20, 2019 | 11 a.m. CT | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind. Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats |
| Match 9: Loyola Marymount (4-5) | Saturday, September 21, 2019 | 8 a.m. CT | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind. Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats |
| Full Match Notes | Illinois |
| 2019 Statistics | Illinois | Pacific | Loyola Marymount |
| Series History | Pacific: Illinois trails, 0-2 | Last: Illinois lost, 2-3, on 9/23/1990 | Streak: Lost 2 | Results Loyola Marymount: Illinois leads, 1-0 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on 9/26/1987 | Streak: Won 1 | Results |
| Social Media | @IlliniVball  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube 
|
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illinois volleyball team is set to finish up nonconference action this weekend at the Bulldog Brawl, hosted by Bulter in Hinkle Fieldhouse on September 20-21.
While the Illini have faced off against the weekend's opponents only three total times in program history. there are other connections
The Illini will open the tournament with an 11 a.m. CT match against Pacific, who IU trails, 0-2 in the all-time series and last played in 1990. While only having played twice before, the Illini hold different connections with the Tigers as it is the Alma Mater for both Chris ('03) and Jen ('04) Tamas, with senior Ashlyn Fleming also transferring in from UP following two seasons in California.
A four-year starter for the Tigers, head coach Chris Tamas was a unanimous AVCA All-American first team selection and team MVP during his 2003 senior season.
A four-time All-American middle blocker at UP, volunteer coach Jen Tamas was named the 2003 Big West Conference Player of the Year and 2000 Big West Freshman of the Year and also led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament each year.
LMU and Illinois have met just once in program history, with the Illini taking a straight-sets victory over the Lions on September 26, 1987.
ILLINI RALLY AGAINST NO. 7 MARQUETTE IN REDBIRD CLASSIC
After a pair of setbacks to Illinois State and UCF in the Redbird Classic, hosted by ISU in Normal, Ill., on September 13-14, the Illinois volleyball team finished off the tournament with a come-from-behind win over No. 7 Marquette in the team's tournament finale on Saturday (September 14) night at Redbird Arena.
The Illini stormed back from a two-set deficit to take a 3-2 (25-27, 12-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-11) victory – the third of the season for the Illini – over the Golden Eagles.
UI got contributions from multiple players with three Illini reaching double figures in kills with senior Jacqueline Quade earning her second-straight double-double and third of the season with a match-high 21 kills to go along with 11 digs. Junior Megan Cooney posted 16 kills , while redshirt-freshman Bruna Vrankovic notched her first-career double-digit outing with 10 kills.
Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 52 helpers, 10 digs and four blocks. Senior Ashlyn Fleming was dominate at the net en route to registering a match-high seven blocks, while freshman Rylee Hinton contributed four stuffs on the night.
Defensively, senior Caroline Welsh recorded a team-high 16 digs, with sophomore Taylor Kuper also notching 11 digs to go along with a career-high five service aces.
LAST WEEK STANDOUTS
Senior Jacqueline Quade led the Illini offense with 59 kills for a 4.54 kills per set, while also adding 29 digs for a 2.23 digs per set in the three matches.
Classmate Ashlyn Fleming was named to the Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team after posting 29 kills for a 2.23 kills per set on a .317 hitting percentage and totaling 13 blocks for a 1.00 stuffs per set mark.
Freshman Rylee Hinton also had a strong tournament with 13 kills on a .367 attack clip and a team-high 15 blocks in the three matches.
Defensively, senior Caroline Welsh stepped into the libero position and registered 50 digs for a 3.85 digs per set, including a career-high 20 digs against UCF on Saturday.
QUADE KILLING IT
Senior Jacqueline Quade has totaled 153 kills in 31 sets for the Illini in 2019 for a 4.94 kills per set average to rank second in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation.
ILLINI IN B1G RANKINGS
Several Illini are ranked in the top 15 in the Big Ten Conference statistics.
Along with Jacqueline Quade ranking second in kills per set, redshirt-freshman Diana Brown sits eighth with 10.39 assists per set after handing out 322 helpers in 31 sets.
Senior Ashlyn Fleming ranks 11th with a .321 hitting percentage and sophomore Taylor Kuper sits 15th with nine service aces in 30 sets for a 0.30 aces per set mark.
ILLINI RANKED NO. 19 IN AVCA POLL
The Illinois volleyball team remained in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll for the fourth-straight week, coming in at No. 19 in this week's rankings. The Illini opened the season with a No. 6 preseason ranking, before moving up one spot for a season-high ranking of No. 5 the following week.
Illinois is one of six Big Ten schools ranked the AVCA Poll and are the fifth-highest behind No. 1 Nebraska. No. 4 Penn State, No. 7 Minnesota and No. 9 Wisconsin, with No. 21 Purdue also in the rankings. Also receiving votes are Michigan and Indiana.
Along with their conference foes, the Illini have faced two other opponents in the top-25, including No. 8 Marquette and No. 10 Washington, with Colorado, Illinois State, UCF and Tennessee also receiving votes.
QUADE TABBED UNANIMOUS PRESEASON ALL-B1G
Illinois volleyball senior Jacqueline Quade was named a unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten honoree as voted on by the Big Ten Conference coaches, with the No. 6 Illini picked to finish fifth in the league standings for the second-straight season, the conference announced on August 26.
It is the first such honor for Quade, who collected American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First-Team All-America honors as well as unanimous All-Big Ten First-Team accolades in a breakout junior campaign.
In her first year as a six-rotation player a season ago, Quade paced the Illini offense with a 4.24 kills per set mark on a .265 hitting percentage, while totaling 625 points on the season to rank sixth in the nation for a 4.73 points per set average. The MVP of the 2018 B1G/Pac-12 Challenge, Quade also registered 254 digs, 63 blocks and 32 service aces on the season. She owned nine double-doubles on the season, as well as registered 10 20-kill matches.
Quade was also named to the NCAA National Championship All-Tournament Team after leading the Illini with 28 kills on a .237 hitting percentage – just one kill off her career-high – and 13 digs in the team's National Semifinal match against Nebraska at the NCAA Final Four last December.
ROSTER RUNDOWN
The Illini return 10 members from the 2018 NCAA National Semifinal squad, including American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Jacqueline Quade and All-Big Ten Second-Team honoree Ashlyn Fleming, who join classmates Beth Prince and Caroline Welsh for their senior season in Champaign.
Juniors Megan Cooney, Morgan O'Brien, Kylie Bruder and Emily Hollowell, sophomore Taylor Kuper and redshirt-freshman Diana Brown complete the returning roster.
Joining the squad for 2019 are Auburn sophomore transfer Mica Allison, redshirt-freshman Bruna Vrankovic and freshmen Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Kyla Swanson, Ellie Holzman, Alyssa Eske and Madison Chi.
HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS IN THIRD SEASON AT THE HELM OF ILLINI VOLLEYBALL
Chris Tamas is in his third season as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2019 after being named to the position in February 2017. Tamas (pronounced Thomas) is the eighth head coach in Illinois history.
Tamas made an immediate impact on Illinois volleyball in his first two seasons at the helm of the program and currently owns an overall record of 58-19 (.753), including a 29-11 (.725) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference.
Illinois experienced one of its most successful seasons ever in 2018 under Tamas, who was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year. The Illini made the program's fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament – riding a 17-match win streak into the Final Four - and ended the season ranked No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Poll. The team registered a 32-4 overall record and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark, with the 32 victories ranking tied for fourth-most wins in school history.
ILLINI ADVANCE TO FOURTH-EVER NCAA FINAL FOUR IN HISTORIC 2018 SEASON
The Illini are coming off an historic 2018 season that saw the Orange & Blue make the program's fourth appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals after earning the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Illini ended the season with a 32-4 overall record – with the 32 wins ranking fourth-most in program history - and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark.
