2021 Volleyball Roster
Jersey Number 15
Megan Cooney
- Position:
- Outside Hitter/Opposite
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Height:
- 6-4
- Hometown:
- Topeka, Kan.
- High School:
- Shawnee Heights HS
Graduate Student - 2021
- Big Ten Medal of Honor
- AVCA All-America Honorable Mention
- AVCA Northeast All-Region
- All-Big Ten First-Team
- CoSIDA Academic All-District
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Played in 147 of the 152 matches in her five seasons to rank third all-time in matches played and finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in sets played (554)
- Concluded her career ranked 10th all-time with 1,507 kills and 1,734.5 points, while also totaling 346 blocks, 546 digs, 47 assists and 44 service aces.
- Ranked second on the team with 376 kills for a 3.03 kills per set on a .267 hitting percentage, as well as ranked third on the team with 282 digs and 83 blocks, while sitting fourth with 29 service aces on the season.
- Totaled 32 kills for a 4.00 kills per set mark on a .333 hitting percentage in the NCAA First & Second Rounds, including turning in 15 kills on a .375 attack clip vs. West Virginia (12/3/21) and 17 kills on a .302 attack clip at No. 7 Kentucky (12/4/21).
- Registered a .533 hitting percentage with nine kills at Michigan State (11/26/21).
- Turned in 16 kills, eight digs and three assists at Michigan (11/24/21).
- Notched nine kills, eight digs and three blocks vs. Maryland (11/21/21).
- Totaled seven kills on a .412 attack clip to go with 10 digs at Indiana (11/19/21).
- Posted 12 kills on a .455 attack clip - a season second-best - against No. 10 Ohio State (11/14).
- Turned in 14 kills on a .343 hitting percentage and seven digs at No. 13 Penn State (10/30/21).
- Registered her fourth-career 20-kill match with a match-high 20 on a .425 hitting percentage, while adding 10 digs for her 12th-career double-double vs. Michigan (10/23/21).
- Turned in a team-high 11 digs to go along with a season-high six blocks in a win at Northwestern (10/20/21).
- Registered her second-straight double-double with a match-high 18 kills to go along with 11 digs and two service aces vs. No. 6 Purdue (10/6/21).
- Posted her 10th career double-double with team-highs of 13 kills on a .345 hitting percentage and 13 digs against No. 5 Wisconsin (10/3/21).
- Registered a career-high-tying with 21 kills on a .260 hitting percentage in a win at No. 4 Purdue (10/1/21).
- Posted a double-double with 16 kills on a season-high .536 attack clip, 12 digs and five blocks vs. Northwestern (9/25/21).
- Notched her eighth-career double-double with a season-high-tying 17 kills on a .317 hitting percentage to go along with 11 digs, five blocks and three aces in a win at Iowa (9/22/21).
- Turned in a match-high 14 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go along with six digs and three blocks at Illinois State (9/17/21).
- Totaled 32 kills on a .239 hitting percentage, while adding 34 digs, five blocks and five aces at the Bluejay Invitational.
- Posted her seventh-career double-double and third of the season to pace the Illini with 17 kills on a .267 hitting percentage to go along with a career-high 17 digs at No. 19 Creighton (9/11/21).
- Led the team with 15 kills on a .256 hitting percentage, with six blocks, four aces, and nine digs vs. Colorado (9/4/21).
- Tallied her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and 10 digs against No. 11 Washington (9/3/21).
- Notched her first double-double of the season with 13 kills, 11 digs and two blocks in a win over Valpo (8/28/21).
Senior - 2020-21
- All-Big Ten Second-Team
- Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Played in 16 matches, starting 14 and seeing action in 62 sets in the conference-only 2020-21 shortened season
- Ranked second on the team with 205 kills on a .142 hitting percentage
- Was third with 37 blocks and fourth on the team with 109 digs and 14 service aces, while also adding eight assists
- Totaled four double-doubles and two 20-kill matches on the year
- Notched a double-double with 14 kills and a career-high-tying 12 digs in a win at No. 8 Purdue (4/3).
- Tallied 10 kills and a season-high five blocks in a win over Indiana (3/27).
- Posted 21 kills, 11 digs and four blocks for her third-career double-double against No. 5 Minnesota (3/12/21).
- Totaled 11 kills, five digs and two blocks against No. 4 Nebraska (3/6/21).
- Notched second-career double-double with 15 kills and a career-high equaling 12 digs vs. Ohio State (2/20/21).
- Registered her first-career double-double with a team-high 16 kills and a career-high 12 digs at Penn State (2/6/21).
- Turned in a match-high 20 kills on a .289 hitting percentage, while also reaching her 1,000th career kill on her 13th of the match, while adding five digs and two blocks at Penn State (2/5/21).
- Turned in a match-high 18 kills on a .366 hitting percentage vs. No. 1 Wisconsin (1/30/21).
- Posted 13 kills to go along with eight digs, four blocks and a team-high three aces at Iowa (1/23/21).
- Led all players with 17 kills on a .324 hitting percentage, while also equaling a career-high with nine digs and serving up a career-best three service aces in season opener at Iowa (1/22/21).
Junior - 2019
- Bulldog Brawl All-Tournament Team
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Played in all 30 matches, starting five matches
- Ranked second on the team with 347 kills on a .212 hitting percentage, to go along with 55.0 total blocks, including ranking second on the team with nine solo blocks, and also adding 50 digs
- Posted 15 kills to go along with a team-high six blocks against Utah (12/6) in the NCAA Tournament First Round.
- Registered back-to-back double figure matches with 11 kills at Ohio State (11/24) and 12 against Northwestern (11/27).
- Tallied a match-high 14 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and three blocks in a win over Rutgers (11/16).
- Turned in 13 kills, five digs and a block against No. 8 Penn State (10/23/19).
- Totaled 30 kills, six digs and three blocks in matches at No. 6 Wisconsin (10/19) and No. 7 Minnesota (10/20).
- Equaled her career-high with 19 kills against No. 6 Minnesota (10/9).
- Led the Illini with 30 kills on 53 swings for a 4.29 kills per set average on an impressive .415 hitting percentage, while adding five blocks and three digs in wins at Indiana (10/4) and No. 17 Purdue (10/6).
- Tied her career-high with 19 kills on a .333 hitting percentage in a win against the Boilermakers.
- Turned in 14 kills and four blocks against No. 3 Nebraska (9/27).
- Named to the Bulldog Brawl All-Tournament Team after totaling 24 kills and committing only three errors in 52 swings for a .404 hitting percentage to go along with seven blocks in matches against Pacific (9/20) and LMU (9/21).
- Posted 16 kills on a .231 hitting percentage in a win over No. 7 Marquette (9/14/19).
- Equaled her career-high with 19 kills on a .333 attack clip to go along with two solo blocks in a road win at No. 19 Tennessee (8/30).
- Reached double figures with 10 kills and had three blocks in a home-opening win over the No. 19 Vols (9/1).
Sophomore - 2018
- CSU Invitational MVP & All-Tournament Team
- Big Ten Co-Player of the Week (9/10)
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Started 33 of the 36 matches she played in as a sophomore.
- Totaled the second-most kills on the team with 343 on a .279 hitting percentage, while also ranking fourth on the team with 80 blocks.
- Turned in nine kills and tied a season-high with five blocks in a win over Louisville (12/1) in the NCAA Second Round.
- Paced team with 13 kills on a .407 hitting percentage and equaled a season-high with five blocks in a win at Michigan State (11/21).
- Led the Illini with 10 kills on a .533 hitting percentage as well as three digs and two blocks in a win at Northwestern (11/14).
- Did not commit an error with seven kills on 11 swings for a .636 hitting percentage at Maryland (11/2).
- Led the Illini with 12 kills on a .455 hitting percentage in a win over Maryland (10/24).
- Reached double figures with 11 kills to go along with four digs and four blocks in a win at No. 8 Wisconsin (10/13).
- Posted a team-high eight kills with just one error on 19 swings at No. 3 Minnesota (10/12).
- Led the Illini with 16 kills on a .433 attack clip and five blocks at Indiana (9/23).
- Totaled 34 kills on a .397 hitting percentage and 12 blocks at the Illini Classic.
- Collected CSU Invitational MVP honors after totaling 39 kills for a 4.33 kills per set average on a .493 hitting percentage, while also tallying six blocks in the three matches.
- Posted 15 kills on 21 swings and no errors for a .714 hitting percentage in a win over UC Irvine (9/8).
- Turned in 11 kills on a .348 hitting percentage and a career-high nine digs in a win at No. 13 Washington (9/1)
- Notched back-to-back double-digit kill outings in Colorado, including 13 against No. 25 Colorado State (8/24) to go along with three blocks, before posting a career-high 19 kills against Northern Colorado (8/25).
Freshman - 2017
- PrepVolleyball.com All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team
- Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (10/16)
- Played in all but two matches as a freshman, starting 29 matches and playing in 118 sets.
- Ranked fourth on the team with 236 kills for a 2.00 kills per set average on a .292 hitting percentage.
- Ranked third on the squad with 91 blocks, including three solo stuffs, for a 0.77 blocks per set mark, while also registering 34 digs, eight assists and one service ace.
- Finished the season with four-straight double-digit kill matches, including 15 on a .333 hitting percentage and four blocks vs. No. 12 Michigan State (12/8) in the NCAA Regional Semifinal.
- Ranked second on the team with 23 kills on a .412 hitting percentage to go along with six blocks in her first two career NCAA matches, while also registering the winning kill vs. No. 10 Washington (12/2).
- Led the Illini with 13 kills on a .435 hitting percentage and four blocks in a win at Ohio State (11/25).
- Turned in 10 kills and six blocks at Michigan (11/11).
- Posted 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage in a five-set win over Michigan (11/4).
- Notched a .500 hitting percentage with five kills on 10 swings vs. Northwestern (11/1).
- Registered a career-high 16 kills on a .314 hitting percentage at Iowa (10/20).
- Totaled a team-high 11 kills on a .333 hitting percentage against Ohio State (10/13/17).
- Posted a .750 hitting percentage with six kills and no errors on eight attempts in a win at Rutgers (10/1).
- Totaled the third-most kills (21) and the second-most blocks (13) at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational (9/15-16), including 10 kills on a .563 hitting percentage against Chattanooga (9/15) and a career-high 10 blocks in a five-set comeback win over Missouri State (9/16).
- Earned her first three career starts at the Cardinal Classic, totaling eight kills and 11 blocks on the weekend.
- Made her Illini debut against Air Force (8/26/17), playing two sets and posting one kills and a block assist in the outing.
High School
- America Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Under Armour Girls High School All-America Second-Team as a senior.
- PrepVolleyball.com Senior Ace No. 35 and was also named to website’s Top 85 Juniors list.
- MaxPreps Sophomore All-American
- Helped lead her Shawnee Heights High School to three-straight Kansas State High School Activities Associations (KSHAA) Sub-State championships as well as the 2016 5A state championship.
- Three-time Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association First-Team All-State honoree (2014-16)
- Three-time Kansas State First-Team All-Tournament Team (2014-16)
- Three-time Topeka Capital Journal First-Team All-City.
- Three-time Capital Journal First-Team All-Centennial League.
- Topeka Capital Journal Newcomer of the Year for both the city and Centennial League as a freshman.
- Shawnee Heights High School all four years of high school.
- National Honor Society as a junior and a senior.
Personal
- Born on March 5, 1999
- Daughter of Kathy and Tom Cooney
- Has an older brother, Michael Maki and a younger brother, Grant Cooney
- Has a dog, Woodrow and a cat, Oatsy
- Majoring in speech and hearing sciences.
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