By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

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NOTE: This is Part 2 of a two-part story detailing the impact of former Illinois' volleyball head coach Mike Hebert. In Part 1, we reviewed Mike Hebert's non-traditional journey towards becoming head volleyball coach of the Fighting Illini.

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To a great extent, Mike Hebert inherited a Fighting Illini volleyball program in 1983 that reflected second-class citizenship.

Without much support, he and assistant coach Don Hardin took it upon themselves to improve Kenney Gym's dingy atmosphere. Thanks to the efforts from the program's newly formed Networkers support group, colorful banners that were sponsored by community boosters made the century-old facility a little less drab.

His first squad in '83 was characterized by a group of marginally talented players who worked hard and carried themselves well. Though it only produced five victories in 30 matches, Hebert's crew never quit.

"I loved those players," he said. "They were good kids, but more than that I respected them for their willingness to buy into a new deal."                                      

In 1984, junior Denise Fracaro represented the transition from the old system to the new. With the addition of a freshman class that included Disa Johnson, Paula Douglass, Buff Binkley and Lori Anderson, Illinois' overall record improved to 18-15 and to a respectable 6-7 in Big Ten play.

"More than any other player," Hebert wrote, "Denise embodied the transition of the Illini program from cellar-dweller to contender."

Fracaro and sensational freshman Mary Eggers were UI's two catalysts to success in 1985, Hebert's third year in Champaign-Urbana.

"At the beginning of the season," Hebert wrote, "we just wanted to be better than we'd been in '84. None of us had any idea what was about to happen. It became a watershed season, marking the transition from a young and improving team to one that was nationally elite."

Sweeps of its own Illini Classic and tournaments at UNLV, BYU and SIU highlighted an astounding 30-0 start. Attendance at Kenney increasingly began to build, capped by a Big Ten record crowd against Iowa on Oct. 4.

"That night, people discovered how intense Kenney Gym could get if you yelled," Hebert said. "Our team thrived on the chaos and a whole new era of Illini volleyball was born that night."

The Illini's unbeaten streak stayed intact until Nov. 1^st when they lost at Northwestern. A 38-2 overall record and a 16-2 conference mark earned Illinois a No. 4 seed in the program's very first foray into NCAA Tournament play. That meant they'd face top-seeded Western Michigan at Kalamazoo. Hebert's club won the first two sets, 15-9 and 15-11, then WMU won set three, 15-12. Illinois rebounded with gusto in the fourth, winning 15-2.

"I'll never forget that scene," Hebert wrote. "Everything was deathly silent in the gym except for us. We had screwed up all of Western's great plans. That was how 1985 went for us, one storybook match after another."

Southern California ended UI's glorious season a week later at 39-3, but the Illini had accomplished more than they could have hoped for.

"Suddenly we could go anywhere to recruit without having to convince people we were a legitimate team," Hebert said. "I had no more doubts about whether volleyball would work at Illinois. We had joined the elite."

Hebert knew he had a good team in 1986; he just didn't know how good. The Illini went 11-2 through the opening run of non-conference games, then began rolling up Big Ten victories, one after another. Wins at Michigan and Michigan State began the streak in late September and conference sweeps continued for the following seven Big Ten weekends, leading to a Nov. 19 match against Purdue at Kenney Gym. After losing to the Boilermakers in set one, Illinois captured the next three, clinching their first conference crown.

"It was a milestone for Illinois women's sports," Hebert wrote.

In December's NCAA Tournament, Illinois dispatched Northern Iowa and Western Michigan, but lost to its nemesis, host Nebraska.

Hebert's '87 Illini featured women's volleyball's best middle-blocking tandem in Eggers and Nancy Brookhart. The now growingly confident coach surrounded his superstars with other talented players, including Johnson, Laura Bush, Lisa Dillman and Barb Winsett.

Though a frustrating home loss to Kentucky and a disappointing defeat at highly ranked Nebraska proved to be blemishes, Illinois went on to mount yet another sterling performance against its Big Ten competition, posting a nearly flawless 17-1 record and a second straight conference title.

Illinois defeated an excellent Pittsburgh team in the first round of the '87 NCAA Tournament. That set up another intense match against Western Michigan. Trailing the Broncos 10-4 in the fifth set, Hebert feared that the Illini's bid for glory was evaporating.

"I sat on the bench, completely out of moves," he wrote. "All I said was 'Look, whatever happens, I'm really proud of you. I know you're playing your hearts out. Let's try to think about it one point at a time, just chip away. Don't get caught up in the winning and losing of the match, just stay in each point.'"

Miraculously, Illinois scored the last 11 points to win the match. Now, Hebert faced another big problem. He had less than 24 hours to draw up a game plan against top-seeded Nebraska for a spot in the NCAA's big dance. Fortuitously, Hebert's team attacked the Cornhuskers like surgeons and midway through set three, sensing a trip to Indianapolis, Illinois fans began to chant … "Final Four, Final Four", over and over again.

The following weekend, the Illini train unfortunately derailed against Hawaii.

"It went down as a 3-0 loss," Hebert said, "but we had established ourselves as a legitimate program that could play with anyone in the country."

Heading into the 1988 season, Volleyball Monthly magazine picked Illinois as the No. 1 team in the country. The Illini's pioneering class of Johnson, Anderson, Douglass and Binkley had graduated, but an excellent team that included Eggers, Brookhart and Bush was coming back. Hebert's ace assistant, Don Hardin, had earned a head coaching job at Louisville, so the team experienced a slight alteration its chemistry.

Regardless, the Illini magic formula stayed unbroken and they rolled to another perfect 18-0 Big Ten mark.

"We simply had much more talent," Hebert wrote. "The '88 team didn't have the emotion and inspiration of the '86 and '87 teams, but it just methodically went out and won with its rich supply of talent."

Three straight opening victories in NCAA play again got Illini volleyball into the Final Four, this time in Minneapolis, matching them a second straight year against Hawaii. A respectable four-set defeat at the hands of the talented Rainbows yielded a third consecutive season-ending disappointment.

Hebert would continue as head coach of the Illini for seven more seasons, highlighted by a fourth Big Ten championship in 1992. He left Illinois for the University of Minnesota following the '95 season and successfully guided the Gophers for 15 years.

In 2009, a season before he retired, Hebert began a valiant 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease. It ended with his passing on Oct. 21, 2019 at the age of 75.