TABLE OF CONTENTS 2011 ILLINOIS SCHEDULE

Transcription

1 2011 Illinois Volleyball TABLE OF CONTENTS MEET THE FIGHTING ILLINI Head Coach Kevin Hambly David Kniffin... 6 Jen Oldenburg... 7 Courtney Abrahamovich Michelle Bartsch Jennifer Beltran Rachel Feldman Erin Johnson Annie Luhrsen Jazmine Orozco Colleen Ward Jackie Wolfe Jocelyn Birks Morganne Criswell Hannah Deterding Anna Dorn Jessica Jendryk Liz McMahon Taylor Onion Ali Stark Players Match-by-Match Career Stats SEASON IN REVIEW Season Ending Notes Final Stats and Results Big Ten Statistics Team/Opponent Game-by-Game Match Highs Match-by-Match Results RECORD BOOK Year-by-Year Illini History State Farm Illini Classic Huff Hall Postseason History Illinois NCAA Tournament Records NCAA Results NCAA Bracket TV History Illinois Quick Facts Big Ten Composite Schedule Big Ten History Illini Big Ten Champions Huff Hall Records Single-Match Records Single-Season Records Career Records Miscellaneous Records Team Records Yearly Statistical Leaders All-Time Coaches Year-by-Year Results Opponent Series Information Letterwinners Illini by Numbers All-America Profiles Honor Roll Illinois in the AVCA Rankings Annual Team Records Roster IFC Radio/TV Roster...IBC 2011 Schedule...Back Cover 2011 ILLINOIS SCHEDULE Saturday, Aug. 20 Alumni Exhibition Match 7 p.m. BYU NIKE INVITATIONAL Friday, Aug. 26 BYU (BYU TV) 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 St. Mary s 1 p.m. UC-Santa Barbara 6 p.m. STATE FARM ILLINI CLASSIC Friday, Sept. 2 Dayton vs. Houston 4:30 p.m. Illinois vs. Tennessee 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3 Illinois vs. Houston 10 a.m. Dayton vs. Tennessee 12:30 p.m. Houston vs. Tennessee 5:30 p.m. Illinois vs. Dayton 7:30 p.m. MTSU INVITATIONAL Friday, Sept. 9 Middle Tennessee 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 Cal Poly 12:30 p.m. Tulsa 7:30 p.m. BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE Friday, Sept. 16 vs. Cincinnati 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 vs. Louisville 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23 at Minnesota 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25 at Wisconsin 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 Indiana 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 Purdue 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 at Ohio State 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 at Penn State (BTN) 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 Michigan (BTN) 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 Michigan State 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Northwestern 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 at Nebraska (BTN) 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 Wisconsin 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 Minnesota 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Purdue (BTN) 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 at Indiana 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 Penn State 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 Ohio State 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at Michigan State 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Michigan 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 Northwestern 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 Iowa 7 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., Dec. 1-3 NCAA First & Second Rounds Fri. & Sat. Dec NCAA Regionals Thursday, Dec. 15 NCAA Final San Antonio, Texas Saturday, Dec. 17 NCAA San Antonio, Texas Matches in BOLD are Home Competitions held in Huff Hall unless noted. All times are CENTRAL The 2011 Illinois Volleyball Media Guide was written by Mike Koon with editorial assistance from Matt Wille. Cover and interior design by Victor Cortez. Photos by Darrell Beachy, Mark Cowan, Mark Jones and Craig Pessman. 19 NCAA Bids // 12 Sweet 16s // 2 Final FOURS // 1

2 H a i l t o t h e O r a n g e // H a i l t o t h e B l u e

3 the Fighting Illini Head Coach KEVIN HAMBLY David Kniffin...6 Jen Oldenburg...7 Courtney Abrahamovich Michelle Bartsch Jennifer BELTRAN Rachel Feldman Erin Johnson Annie Luhrsen Jazmine Orozco Jackie Wolfe Colleen Ward Jocelynn Birks...26 Morganne Criswell...27 Hannah Deterding...28 Anna Dorn...29 Jessica Jendryk...30 Liz McMahon...31 Tayler Onion...32 Ali Stark...33 Players Match-By-Match Career Stats

4 Kevin Hambly Head Coach 3RD season AS HEAD COACH 8TH SEASON OVERALL AT ILLINOIS Kevin Hambly has been instrumental in Illinois volleyball emerging again as a national power. Since his arrival in Champaign, the Illini have garnered two top-10 recruiting classes, reached as high as No. 3 in the national rankings, and advanced to three straight Sweet 16s. His teams have gone head-to-head with some of the powers of the game, both in the Big Ten and in the non-conference, and have done so with a measure of success. Hambly s record in two seasons as a head coach is A total of five players have earned seven All-America honors, including outside hitter Laura DeBruler, who became the fourth First FUN FACTS ON Kevin Hambly How I started playing volleyball: My mom bribed me to try out for my school team with a Georgetown Hoya hat. Best moments on the volleyball court: Every day of practice at BYU Best moments on the basketball court: Playing with the men at Venice Beach in high school. Top players competed against in basketball: Jacque Vaughn & Tyus Edney Activities you enjoy outside of volleyball: Cooking, reading, and playing any kind of game Life s simple pleasure you enjoy: Breakfast with my kids What s on your I-POD (mp3)? Don t own one; but if I did Shins, Wilco, Pearl Jam, Lightning Hopkins, John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson Quote I live by: Know yourself Mentors in coaching: Don Hardin, Toshi Yoshida, Carl McGown and Shelton Collier How many countries have you visited? Last time I counted 33 What is your favorite? My favorite city is Paris; most beautiful is Montreux, Switzerland; best experience Cusco, Peru. What I take away from life with the U.S. Olympic Team: That no one knows how hard those athletes work and how dedicated they are until you see it everyday. How I relax: Cook Memorable moments from being a dad: The births of both my daughters are memorable. The first (Quinn) I was light-headed and an absolute mess and the second (Maura) I was able to enjoy a lot more and just realize what a miracle it is. Meal I most look forward to: Donut morning with Quinn and hopefully Maura Superstitions: None, they scare me! Team All-American in The Illini have produced in the classroom, combining for 17 Academic All-Big Ten honors in the last two seasons with Johannah Bangert one of just six players to earn First Team Academic All-America. His second year as a head coach in 2010 brought victories over a pair of No. 2 ranked teams, including eventual national champion Penn State, who fell to the Illini in five sets in front of the first sellout at Huff Hall in 18 years. Illinois went 26-6 in his first year as head coach, finishing in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten and reaching the Sweet 16. Hambly was named the seventh head coach in the program s history and just the third in the last quarter century on Jan. 8, He replaced Don Hardin, who retired after 13 years as head man at Illinois. Hambly, who had a number of years of international coaching experience, served as assistant coach for the Fighting Illini for five years prior, the first two years as a volunteer assistant and the last three as a full-time assistant. His impact was felt in every area of the program. The most recent graduating class was ranked as the sixth-best recruiting class nationally. The 2011 team will have five players ranked in the top 30 nationally of their respective classes -- No. 3 Liz McMahon, No. 6 Anna Dorn, No. 7 Colleen Ward, No. 16 Michelle Bartsch and No. 26 Ali Stark. Hambly is involved in the community, a regular requested speaker for area groups. He conducts Chalktalks for the Illinois volleyball booster club, The Networkers before every home game, giving fans an inside look at the scouting report for that night s match. Hambly was in charge of practice planning, training and scouting as well as recruiting in his final years as an assistant. The level of play was raised over his time at Illinois, bringing with him many of the techniques and philosophies he developed under Toshi Yoshida, the U.S. National team coach for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With Hambly serving as an assistant coach, the U.S. went from 12th to first in the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) world rankings Kevin Hambly is a regular evaluator for USA Volleyball in addition to his coaching duties. in the nine months leading up to the games for just the second time. In those four years, the U.S. won the NORCECA championship four years in a row, won a silver medal at the World Championships, a bronze medal at the World Cup and a gold and two bronze medals at World Grand Prix Tournaments. A native of Simi Valley, Calif., Hambly was an All-American in volleyball at Royal High School and chose to play that sport at BYU, leading the nation in blocks in Hambly was named to the Volleyball Monthly All-Freshman Team in 1992, was selected as a third-team All-American in 1994 and earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Team All-America honors in The Cougars ended the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation three times and came within one win of the Final Four twice in Hambly s playing days. Hambly played professionally for Montpellier University Club in France, leading the league in hitting efficiency and in blocks before beginning his coaching career as an assistant at UNLV in In his four years in Las Vegas, the Rebels produced nine all-conference performers. Hambly also founded and directed the Rebel volleyball club, which evolved into the highly respected Club Las Vegas team and founded the men s volleyball club team at UNLV. While at BYU he also served as the head coach of the Highline Volleyball Club s 16 & under teams for two years. His experience with USA Volleyball began in 2001 where, in addition to serving as an assistant for the national team, he was also the head coach of the USA Women s National Training 4 // 2011 Illinois Volleyball

5 Team for two tournaments during his tenure. In 2002, he guided the team to fifth at the Pan American Cup in Mexico. In 2003, he led the team to third place at the Mexicali Centenarian Women s Volleyball Cup and second at the Pan American Cup. Hambly continues to serve USA Volleyball as a consultant during try-outs. He also served as an assistant coach for Minnesota of the United States Professional Volleyball, helping lead the Chill to the league championship in Hambly graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation, Sport and Tourism with an emphasis in sports management. He and Mary have two daughters, Quinn (5) and Maura (3). The Kevin Hambly File Date of Birth: March 12, 1973 Hometown: Simi Valley, Calif. Education: B.S., Recreation, Sport & Tourism, University of Illinois, 2006 Family: Wife, Mary; Daughters, Quinn and Maura HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE 2010 University of Illinois 24-9 Second, Big Ten; NCAA Sweet University of Illinois 26-6 Second, Big Ten; NCAA Sweet 16 Overall Record (.769) OTHER COACHING EXPERIENCE , University of Illinois Reached 2008 NCAA Sweet Volunteer, University of Ilinois , Minnesota Chill, USPV Won league championship , USA Volleyball 2001 NORCECA Championship (Gold Medal) 2001 World Cup (Bronze Medal) 2002 World Championships (Silver Medal) 2003 NORCECA Championship (Gold Medal) 2004 Olympic Games (Fifth place) Head Coach, USA National Training Teams 2003 Pan American Cup (Silver Medal) 2003 Mexicali Tournament (Bronze Medal) 2002 Pan American Cup (Fifth Place) , UNLV Nine All-Conference performers 2001 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Sheila Ocasio Clemente Rebel Club Las Vegas Volleyball Club Club Director/President/Founder 1996 Head Coach, Nevada Juniors Volleyball Club Head Coach, Highline Volleyball Club PLAYING EXPERIENCE Montpelier University Club Finished second in the division regular season Led league in hitting efficiency and blocks per game Brigham Young University Two-time All-American Two-time All-Conference School record for most solo blocks in a match (5) Ranks second on single-season blocks list (181) and fourth on the season kills list (1,038) Ranks second on career blocks list (533) The Hamblys - Kevin, Maura, Quinn and Mary What They re Saying... Kevin knows the game and, more importantly, he knows how to teach it and coach it. He is a great communicator and works very well with his athletes. He knows how to administrate and run a program, and he is a man of character and integrity. Most importantly he knows how to work hard and he knows how to work smart. He s a great coach and a great human being. -- Hugh McCutheon, Former Women s Head Coach and former Men s Head Coach, USA Volleyball Kevin was my right hand when I was head USA women s coach and he was my assistant. He is a hard worker and loyal. His knowledge of the game and willingness to continue to learn has a lot to do with his success. I am sure that he will give his best effort to the Illinois team and I wish him all the best. -- Toshi Yoshida, Former Women s Head Coach of the USA Volleyball 19 NCAA Bids // 12 Sweet 16s // 2 Final Fours // 5

6 The KNIFFIN File Hometown Chico, Calif. Education BA, Philosophy, UC-Irvine Playing Experience Loyola Marymount, 2000 Los Angeles Pierce College, 2001 UC-Irvine, 2002, 03 CAI Voleibol Teruel (Spain), 2004, 05 Coaching Experience UC-Irvine, AVCA of Year, 2010 David KNIFFIN 1st Season at illinois David Kniffin joins the Illinois staff this season after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach for the UC-Irvine men s program. He was named the AVCA of the Year in In his five years at Irvine, the Anteaters posted a record, advanced to the post-season each year and won two NCAA national titles -- in 2007 and UCI was nationally ranked each of those five seasons, spending 12 weeks at No. 1. Under Kniffin s tutelage, setters Brian Thornton and Ryan Ammerman were named first-team AVCA All-Americans. Ammerman was also named the NCAA Tournament MVP Kniffin graduated from UC-Irvine with a bachelor s degree in philosophy and has been purusing an advanced degree. A starting setter for the 2002 and 2003 Anteater teams, he holds the single-season school assist record after amassing 1,632 in Kniffin earned UCI Scholar-Athlete and MPSF All-Academic honors. Beginning with his years as a player and continuing on the coaching staff, he has seen the UCI program rise to national prominence. During his senior season, the Anteaters earned the school s first No. 1 ranking. As I was going through the hiring process and talking to people I trust about what I was looking for, Dave s name kept coming up. After a few conversations with Dave I knew why. He has tremendous knowledge of the game; he will be a great tactician, scout, and trainer. He has been on staff for two national championships on the men s side and understands what it takes to get there. Those attributes are important, but what was as important to myself, Jen (Oldenburg) and the players was that Dave also fits culturally with the program. He demonstrated the same core values and wants to offer the same experience that the Illini program is working to offer. As we re looking forward to next season, I think Dave is the right person for that journey. -- Kevin Hambly University of Illinois, 2011 Following graduation, Kniffin played professionally for CAI Voleibol Teruel (Spain) for two seasons, helping the team to the division championship one year, while teaching English and helping organize European Tours for American volleyball players looking to compete abroad. Kniffin s connection to volleyball has taken him around the globe. He helped manage the 2010 World League Finals (six top National Teams) hosted in Cordoba, Argentina, in July. He also helped establish the only annual professional volleyball event in the United States, which has been held on the UC-Irvine campus the past two years in October. David Kniffin and daughter, Summer A graduate of Chico (Calif.) High School, Kniffin began his playing career at Loyola Marymount until the program was dropped following the 2000 season. He transferred to Los Angeles Pierce College and started on the undefeated state championship team in 2001, garnering first-team all-league honors. My attraction to this position was to be part of building something special, Kniffin said. That was great to be a part of at Irvine, and Illinois is in position to do the same thing in the coming years. The biggest selling point, however, had less to do with volleyball. Kevin has helped create a great volleyball community here. The relationships that I noticed when I came to campus are something that transcends volleyball. 6 // 2011 Illinois Volleyball

7 Jen FlYNN Oldenburg 8TH season at Illinois Jen Flynn Oldenburg begins her eighth year as an assistant at Illinois after an impressive playing career. The Oldenburg File Hometown Pittsburgh, Pa. Family Husband, Steve; Son, Maverick Education B.A., Sport & Leisure Studies Ohio State, 2001 Playing Experience Baldwin H.S., Ohio State, United States Professional Volleyball Team, 2000 Grand Rapids Force, 2002 USA National Team, Coaching Experience Volunteer Assistant Ohio State 2001 University of Illinois, 2004-present Jen has been a significant part of our success here. She brings a great knowledge of the Big Ten, both as a player and as a coach and is very familiar with our system and technique. She has also been a big part of our success in recruiting. -- Kevin Hambly She has been a motivating force during practices and matches. Her work with the serving and passing as well as the defensive specialists has been instrumental to the success of three straight Sweet 16 appearances. During her time at Illinois, she has also shared her expertise with the setters. Oldenburg assists in all aspects of the program, with her main focus being on court training, recruiting coordination, travel, summer camps and compliance/equipment/facilities liaison. Oldenburg was one of the top setters in the country prior to coming to Illinois, starting at setter for the USA National Team and leading the Americans to the silver medal at the 2002 World Championships. She also was a starter for the Grand Rapids Force of the USPV and played on the USPV Dream Team, starting at setter for the Millennium Cup champion USPV All-Stars, during which she was named to the all-tournament team. Oldenburg grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and played at Ohio State from She helped lead the Buckeyes to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in 99 and honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in 97. She was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and four-time Ohio State scholar athlete. Oldenburg, who remains the only Big Ten player to be named All-Big Ten at two positions (setter and outside hitter), ranks sixth in OSU history with 3,213 assists, ninth with 1,138 digs and 14th with 274 (32-242) blocks. Oldenburg earned a bachelor s degree in sport and leisure studies and was a volunteer assistant coach at Ohio State in Prior to her career at Illinois, she worked in the Rockford, Mich., elementary school system. She has shared her expertise at the Jen Flynn Setter Clinic in Columbus, Ohio, the Tri- State Volleyball Camp in Pittsburgh, Pa., and most recently with the USA High Performance Select age group in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Oldenburg s success started in high school, where she led Baldwin High School to the 1995 state championship. In 2007, Oldenburg was named a charter member of Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Hall of Fame, which included golf legend Arnold Palmer. A three-sport student-athlete, she was first-team All- WPIAL in volleyball, basketball and softball as well as first-team all-state in volleyball. She was also a fourtime scholar athlete. She earned Gatorade/Pennsylvania Volleyball Player of the Year and was named the Female Athlete of the Year by both the Pittsburgh Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune. Oldenburg has also been inducted into the Baldwin High School Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Her husband, Steve, is a strength and conditioning coach for the University of Illinois. He trains the volleyball team as well as women s soccer, men s tennis, and men s golf. They are the parents of a son, Maverick. Jen and Steve Oldenburg with son, Maverick. 19 NCAA Bids // 12 Sweet 16s // 2 Final Fours // 7