12 5-10 SOPHOMORE SETTER NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS LIZZIE BAZZETTA NAPERVILLE NORTH Converted to right-side hitter in the absence of Rasa Virsilaite Became Illinois full-time setter Oct. 7 at Michigan Recorded 29 assists in two games against Illinois State Posted a careerhigh four kills in matches against Rice and Michigan State Recorded a career-high in digs (17) while serving three aces in a five-game loss to Northwestern Set for a career-high in assists (66) in a five-game victory over Michigan State Served a career-high in aces (5) while setting up 58 assists in a four-game loss to Minnesota Topped her career-high in assists as she recorded 68 in a five-game victory against Purdue Led the Illini in service aces in nine different matches. Led the team in block assists (6) in a victory over Purdue Had 65 assists and a career-high 20 digs at Iowa. Unanimous first team All-DuPage Valley Conference setter for Naperville North, which went undefeated in winning the DVC title A multi-dimensional player with 75 kills, 27 blocks, 104 digs, and 83 aces in addition to her 908 assists as a senior Named Player of the Year by the Naperville Sun and to the DuPage Daily Herald and Chicago Sun-Times All-Area teams. The Huskies won the regional and sectional tournaments before falling to Downers Grove South in the supersectional in an exciting three-game match The Huskies season also included winning the Lake Park Invite and placing third at the West Aurora Invite, both events where Bazzetta was named to the All-Tournament Team. High School coach was Jen Scarpino Played for Club Elite and was the captain for the Sports Performance team (coached by Rick Butler) in 2004 Played for Sports Performance 18-Red (coached by Larry Kahl) in 2004-05 Earned All- America at AAU Nationals and was named to the All-Tournament team at the USAV Nationals Posted 151 kills, 64 blocks, 658 digs, 2,066 assists and 184 aces while hitting.481 during the 2004-05 club season The Sports Performance 18-Red placed first in the Big South Qualifier and the Lone Star Tournament, and second at the AAU Nationals. Born July 5, 1986 Daughter of Bob and Mary Jean Bazzetta Majoring in biological studies Continues a family tradition of attending and playing volleyball at Illinois. Sister, Kathleen, was a four-year regular at defensive specialist, following aunts Kathleen and Eileen Gartland, who played volleyball for the Illini in the 1970s Parents Bob and Mary Jean Bazzetta and several family members also attended Illinois. Member of National Honor Society PE Leader First Class Leader. K: 4, twice, last at Michigan St. (10/8/05) E: 3, three times, last at Minnesota (11/25/05) TA: 8, twice, last at Minnesota (11/25/05) PCT:.600 (3-0-5) at Penn State (9/23/05) A: 68 vs. Purdue (11/16/05) SA: 5 vs. Michigan State (10/28/05) SE: 5 vs. Iowa (10/14/05) D: 20 at Iowa (11/16/05) BS: 1 at Iowa (11/2605) BA: 6 vs. Purdue (11/16/05) TB: 6 vs. Purdue (11/16/05) BAZZETTA S CAREER STATISTICS 30 92 33 25 97.082 824 30 51 21 207 1 46 47 1 8 Total 30 92 33 25 97.082 824 30 51 21 207 1 46 47 1 8 26 // 2006 ILLINOIS VOLLEYBALL
2 VICKI BROWN 6-2 JUNIOR MIDDLE BLOCKER TOLEDO, OHIO ROY C. START THE FIGHTING ILLINI Converted back to middle blocker, a position she played in high school Recorded seven block assists against UNLV Recorded double-digits in kills in 13 matches Named to the State Farm Illini Classic All-Tournament Team after recording 22 kills in 42 attempts and seven blocks in two games Led the Illini in blocks in 15 matches Recorded a career high in kills (19) in a five-game victory over Michigan State In UM-MSU weekend, combined to hit.404 Recorded a career high in block assists (9) in a five-game loss to Indiana Set a career high in attack attempts against Purdue with 31. 2004 Was a big spark off the bench Hit.667 with four kills and no errors in the win over Miami in the Illini Classic Had seven kills and several crucial ones in the fourth game of the win over USC Down 27-25 in the fourth game of the Arkansas Tournament, scored the final six Illinois points as the Illini rallied to win, 31-29 Had five kills vs. Penn State Finished the season with 60 kills and a.159 hitting percentage. Earned All-City honors as both a junior and senior Earned All-District honors in 2003 after being an honorable mention All-District selection as a junior A two-sport standout in both volleyball and basketball Named to the Springfield Golden Spike All-Tournament team after recording 42 kills in three matches Finished the year with 182 kills, 72 blocks and a.380 attack percentage As a junior, had nine double-digit kills matches, including three with 15 or more Named to the Ohio Valley Region (OVR) High Performance Team at the 2002 Salt Lake City National Volleyball Meet High School Coach was Jan Dermer Named All-City League and Honorable Mention All-District in basketball, leading Start to its city championship Game. Born Aug. 11, 1986 Daughter of Kevin and Francine Brown Member of the high school choir and the Blessed Singing Group Favorite athlete is Tim Duncan because He doesn t talk a lot on how good his game is; he just shows it on the court Would like to play volleyball professionally then teach elementary school. K: 19 at Michigan St. (10/8/05) E: 9 at Purdue (10/19/05) TA: 31 vs. Purdue (11/16/05) PCT:.615 (9-1-4) vs. UWGB (9/3/05) A: 2, twice, last vs. Michigan St. (10/28/05) SA: 0 SE: 0 D: 2, five times BS: 2, five times BA: 9 at Indiana (10/22/05) TB: 9 at Indiana (10/22/05) NCAA TOURNAMENT STATS DATE OPPONENT K D TB ASST ACES 12/3/04 Louisville 5 10 2 0 0 BROWN S CAREER STATISTICS 2004 20 40 60 36 151.159 0 0 1 0 10 1 12 13 2 0 31 117 283 124 587.271 11 0 0 2 19 16 115 131 14 3 Total 51 157 343 160 738.248 11 0 1 2 29 17 127 144 16 3 16 NCAA BIDS // 9 SWEET 16S // 2 FINAL FOURS // 27
14 6-3 SOPHOMORE MIDDLE BLOCKER WHEATON, ILLINOIS RACHEL HENDERSON WHEATON-WARRENVILLE SOUTH Played in 23 matches Recorded a career-high three block assists in a three-game loss to Ohio State Missed eight matches in late September with mononucleosis Recorded a career-high six kills vs. UW-Green Bay Had five kills and four assists in a three-game victory over Indiana Teamed with Meghan Macdonald on the game three-ending block in the victory over Purdue. Second team All-State Listed as a Top 50 recruit by prepvolleyball.com Coached by Bill Schreier at Wheaton-Warrenville South Named team MVP and All-DuPage Valley Conference as a junior and senior Wheaton South won the regional title in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and placed fourth in the state in 2002 The Tigers won the Willowbrook Tournament in 2002 and 2003 Henderson had 322 kills, 77 blocks, and 148 digs while hitting.477 as a junior, and 337 kills, 57 blocks, 112 digs, and 55 aces while hitting.436 as a senior Earned Wheaton- Warrenville South Female Athlete of the Year as a senior Played for Sports Performance (coached by Rick Butler) for six years The Sports Performance Elite Team won the Junior Olympic National Championship and Henderson was named to the All-Tournament Team Had the highest hitting percentage in the history of Sports Performance Named an AAU All-American. Born Aug. 4, 1987 Daughter of Chip and Liz Henderson Named Academic All- DuPage Valley Conference Enjoys music, guitar, and bike riding Majoring in food science - nutrition. K: 6 vs. UW-Green Bay (9/3/05) E: 4 vs. Austin Peay (9/2/05) TA: 14 vs. Austin Peay (9/2/05) PCT.:.625 vs. UW-Green Bay (9/3/05) A: 5 vs. Austin Peay (9/2/05) SA: 2 at Michigan St. (10/8/05) SE: 1 vs. Minnesota (10/15/05) D: 9, twice, last at Indiana (10/22/05) BS: 0 BA: 3, twice, last at Minnesota (11/25/05) HENDERSON S CAREER STATISTICS 23 80 40 17 95.242 25 3 1 6 58 0 18 18 1 0 Total 23 80 40 17 95.242 25 3 1 6 58 0 18 18 1 0 28 // 2006 ILLINOIS VOLLEYBALL
4 MEGHAN MACDONALD 6-1 SENIOR MIDDLE BLOCKER DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH Started all 31 matches at middle blocker Totaled 10 double-digit kills matches Named to the State Farm Illini Classic All- Tournament Team after recording 29 kills in 56 attempts and eight blocks in two matches One of the top servers on the Illini team, served three aces each in match against Loyola and Northwestern and had seven matches with two or more service aces Recorded a career-high 20 kills in 41 attempts (.400) in a victory over Eastern Illinois Led the Illini in kills (15) in a threegame loss to Iowa Led Illinois in digs (6), aces (3) and blocks (8) in victory over Loyola Led team in blocks eight times Had match-clinching kills vs. UWGB. 2004 Began the year as a full-time starter for the first time in her young career Set a career high in kills (11) and attacks (18) vs. TCU and followed that up with 12 kills vs. Ball State Served nine consecutive points in game two vs. USC and four crucial points in fifth game vs. Women of Troy Tallied nine kills vs. USC Team leader in aces (29) Had four straight double-digit kill matches Sept. 24-Oct. 3 with a combined 49 (3.5 per game). She hit.416 in that span and posted a career high with 14 kills vs. Purdue. 2003 Posted 15 kills and nine blocks Recorded a career-high seven kills vs. Manhattan at the Connecticut Tournament Had 10 attacks and hit.700 vs. Manhattan Hit.429 for the season Appeared in nine matches Tallied three blocks in her first career match vs. DePaul. Four-year varsity letterwinner in volleyball and three-year letterwinner in basketball Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 recruit All- American by Student Sports Magazine Two-time All-State and All-Area selection Named Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, News-Gazette Player of the Year and Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2002 All-Tournament team at the Nike Challenge and IHSA State Championships as a senior Two-time All- West Suburban Gold Conference selection Competed in the IHSA Class AA State finals all four years, with Downers Grove South winning state in 1999 and 2002, placing third in 2000 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2001 Received Chicago Tribune/WGN Sports Outstanding Achievement Award as a senior High School teammate of fellow Illini Beth Vrdsky. Born Jan. 18, 1985 Parents are John and Denise Macdonald Nicknames are Mac and Big Mac Majoring in elementary education Brother, Dave, plays baseball at Illinois State Father played football at Tulsa and baseball at Southern Illinois High school activities included Athletes Committed to Excellence, Operation Snowball, and D.A.R.E. Daughters of American Revolution award winner Lists her father and brother as the people that have most influenced her athletic career for inspiring and guiding me and teaching me how to become a competitive athlete. K: 20 vs. Eastern Illinois (9/16/04) E: 8 vs. Minnesota (10/15/05) TA: 41 vs. Eastern Illinois (9/16/05) PCT.:.917 (11-0-12) vs. Northwestern (10/1/04) A: 6 at Northwestern (11/5/05) SA: 4 vs. Miami (9/04/04) SE: 4 at Michigan St. (9/18/04) D: 9 at Purdue (11/13/04) BS: 2 twice, last vs. Eastern Illinois (9/16/05) BA: 7 vs. Loyola (9/7/05) TB: 8 vs. Loyola (9/7/05) MACDONALD S CAREER STATISTICS 2003 9 9 15 3 28.429 0 0 4 0 1 1 8 9 2 0 2004 30 111 227 91 466.292 24 29 37 0 55 15 85 100 10 2 31 117 264 113 565.267 17 22 29 2 59 11 105 116 6 2 Total 70 237 506 207 1059.282 41 51 70 2 115 27 198 25 18 4 16 NCAA BIDS // 9 SWEET 16S // 2 FINAL FOURS // 29
7 STEPHANIE OBERMEIER 5-10 SENIOR SETTER / DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS PRAIRIE RIDGE Started at both setter and defensive specialist for the Illini Late in the season played at the same time as fellow setter Lizzie Bazzetta Had 49 assists in a three-game victory over Wisconsin Green Bay Had 62 assists along with nine digs in a three-game victory over UNLV Recorded 40+ assists in seven different matches in Recorded 65 assists against Ohio State in five games Had a career-high five block assists against Northwestern Recorded a career-high 15 digs in a five-game victory over Purdue Had a double-double with 47 assists and 15 digs vs. Northwestern. 2004 Took over for Erin Virtue following Virtue s season-ending injury on Sept. 18 Made her first career start vs. Arkansas and had 50 assists in the four-game victory Served as the Illinois setter for the rest of the season Ranked third in Big Ten in assists per game for conference matches only (13.42) and ninth in the league in aces per game (0.25) in conference matches only Posted a career-best 70 assists vs. Michigan Topped that with 73 assists at Purdue Her 1,100 assists were just 62 behind Illini all-time assists leader Melissa Beitz s freshman total Had four double-digit digs matches. 2003 Redshirted, but practiced with the team. Four-year varsity letterwinner and two-time team captain and team MVP in volleyball Set an Illinois state record in 1999 for most assists in a single game with 21 2002 first-team All-State by the News-Gazette and second-team All-State by the Chicago Tribune Named 2002 first-team All-Area by the Chicago Sun- Times, Daily Herald and Northwest Herald Named Northwest Herald Volleyball Player of the Year and Prairie Ridge Female Athlete of the Year as a senior Two-time All-Fox Valley Conference selection Helped lead Prairie Ridge to two conference titles, three regional titles and one sectional title during her high school career. Born Feb. 23, 1985 Parents are Steve and Laurie Obermeier Majoring in advertising Cousin, Jen Koll, played soccer at Carthage College Participated in a leadership mentoring program during high school Member of the high honor roll Biggest thrill in sports was helping Prairie Ridge to the school s first-ever regional title during her freshman year by defeating top-seeded Fremd in three games Lists her favorite athlete as her brother, Mike because of how hard he worked to get back to playing sports after tearing his ACL. K: 4 vs. Michigan St. (10/9/04) E: 2 at Arkansas (9/18/04) TA: 8 vs. Purdue (9/24/04) PCT.:.500 (4-0-8) vs. Michigan St. (10/9/04) A: 73 at Purdue (11/13/04) SA: 3, twice; last vs. Michigan (10/8/04) SE: 3 at Arkansas (9/18/04) D: 15 vs. Northwestern (9/30/05) BS: N/A BA: 4 vs. Louisville (12/3/04) TB: 1, three times; last vs. Michigan St. (10/9/04) NCAA TOURNAMENT STATS DATE OPPONENT K D TB ASST ACES 12/3/04 Louisville 2 6 4 53 0 OBERMEIER S CAREER STATISTICS 2004 23 82 31 12 121.157 1100 18 21 1 155 1 43 44 4 7 26 93 15 13 46.043 693 6 23 1 193 2 27 29 6 9 Total 49 175 46 25 167.126 1793 24 44 2 348 3 70 73 10 16 30 // 2006 ILLINOIS VOLLEYBALL
Major cog in the Illini success on the outside Teamed with classmate Vicki Brown to form venerable Batman and Robin combination Led the team in kills (16) after putting up 47 attempts in a match against Austin Peay Really exploded onto the scene in the tournament at UNLV where she totaled 15 kills and hit.344 vs. Louisville, set a career high with 20 kills and a.306 hitting percentage in a five-game win over UNLV, and amassed 13 kills and a.323 percentage vs. Rutgers Had an attack percentage of.515 (18-1-33) against Ohio State in five games and was a major reason Illinois was able to rally from a 2-0 deficit against the Buckeyes Led the team in total attacks against Wisconsin with 33 Had 10 or more kills in 13 matches, including eight straight from Sept. 9-Sept. 30 Had a big kill in game four of Illinois win over Michigan State with the game tied at 28 Led the team in blocks four times Missed the final six matches with a stress fracture in her left tibia. 2004 Did not appear in a match during the season while nursing a knee injury. 11 KAYANI TURNER 6-2 REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER BEL AIR, MD. JOHN CARROLL Led John Carroll High School to back-to-back conference titles in her junior and senior seasons John Carroll posted a 38-1 combined record her last two seasons. Co-state leader in kills per game in 2003 Led the Baltimore metro area in kills for two years, averaging 4.6 kills per game as a junior and six kills per game this year Named an All-American at the 2003 National Volleyball Junior Olympics A twosport star in both volleyball and basketball, Turner received an invitation for the 2003 A2 Youth National Team, but was unable to participate due to her AAU basketball team advancing to nationals Two-time All-County first team Played for Time Out Orange Crush U-18 team coached by Ian Blanchard High school coach was Greg Cullison Played for the three-time state champion AAU Basketball team. K: 20 at UNLV (9/9/05) E: 10 vs. Wisconsin (11/1/05) TA: 49 at UNLV (9/9/05) PCT.:.515 (18-1-33) at Ohio State (9/24/05) A: 2 vs. Eastern Illinois (9/16/05) SA: 3 vs. Austin Peay (9/2/05) SE: 4 vs. Austin Peay (9/2/05) D: 8 vs. Austin Peay (9/2/05) BS: 2 vs. Eastern Illinois (9/16/05) BA: 6 at UNLV (9/9/05) TB: 7 at UNLV (9/9/05) THE FIGHTING ILLINI meet the fighting illini TURNER S CAREER STATISTICS 24 88 225 112 640.177 4 4 6 0 51 6 48 54 0 0 Total 24 88 225 112 640.177 4 4 6 0 51 6 48 54 0 0 16 NCAA BIDS // 9 SWEET 16S // 2 FINAL FOURS // 31
3 BETH VRDSKY 5-5 SENIOR DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH Was one of the elite group of Air Force ROTC cadets to receive an invitation into the Academy s flight school Received a scholarship for her final two years at Illinois. Set the Illini s single-season digs record with 520, breaking the old mark of 465 set by Tracey Marshall in 1998 Had 27 digs in a five-game victory over Michigan State Recorded a careerhigh 36 digs against Eastern Illinois in the State Farm Illini Classic Led the team in digs in 21 matches Her 36 digs vs. Eastern Illinois ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in Recorded 31 digs in a five-game victory over Purdue Posted three matches with 30+ digs Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for her 45 digs in victories over Purdue (Nov. 16) and Indiana (Nov. 18). 2004 Had seven double-digit digs matches with a season-best 17 digs vs. Purdue Had 15 digs in the Illini s upset of No. 1 USC Other doubledigit matches were vs. TCU (14), Minnesota (13), Michigan (13), Loyola (11) and Ball State (11). 2003 A virtual starter at defensive specialist, was part of the regular rotation all season Played in all 33 matches and 116 of 120 games during the year Ranked fourth on the team with 208 digs Posted a career-high 17 digs in the victory over No. 20 Minnesota on Nov. 7 Tallied seven matches with double-digits in digs, including 14 digs vs. Purdue, 12 vs. Penn State, and 12 at Minnesota. Earned four varsity letters in volleyball and one in soccer Two-time All-Area and All-West Suburban Gold selection in 2001 and 2002 Recorded 75 aces, the most in the Chicagoland area, during her junior season Competed in the IHSA Class AA State finals all four years, with Downers Grove South winning state in 1999 and 2002, placing third in 2000 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2001 Participated in four AAU national tournaments with her club team High school teammate of fellow Illini Meghan Macdonald. Born April 20, 1985 Parents are Steve and Trish Vrdsky Majoring in sociology Enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences National Honor Society member, Academic Honor Roll and All-Academic selection Favorite sport other than volleyball is tennis After graduating from college, she will commission as an officer into the United States Air Force where she hopes to become a fighter pilot. K: 1 three times, last at Northwestern (11/5/05) TA: 4 vs. Louisville (9/9/05) PCT: 1.000 (1-0-1) vs. Indiana (10/25/03) A: 3, three times, last vs. Indiana St. (9/2/05) SA: 2, twice, last vs. Michigan, (10/29/05) SE: 4, three times, last vs. Rutgers (9/10/05) D: 36 vs. Eastern Illinois (9/16/05) NCAA TOURNAMENT STATS DATE OPPONENT K D TB ASST ACES 12/5/03 Murray State 0 2 0 0 0 12/6/03 Louisville 0 3 0 1 0 12/12/03 Hawaii 0 5 0 0 0 12/3/04 Louisville 0 7 0 0 0 VRDSKY S CAREER STATISTICS 2003 33 116 1 0 5.200 8 0 3 26 208 0 0 0 0 0 2004 30 109 1 2 9 -.111 16 4 10 17 205 0 0 0 0 2 31 117 3 3 17.000 35 14 51 76 520 0 1 1 1 0 Total 94 342 5 5 31.000 59 18 64 119 933 0 1 1 1 2 32 // 2006 ILLINOIS VOLLEYBALL
9 Transferred to Illinois from Northwestern. Tranferred to Illinois from Parkland College. STEPHANIE ALDE 6-1 FRESHMAN OUTSIDE HITTER LIBERTYVILLE, ILL. LIBERTYVILLE NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT NORTHWESTERN Appeared in 36 matches in two seasons, posting 81 kills, 40 blocks, 18 digs,and 11 aces as a freshman, and 17 kills as a sophomore. Two-time All-North Suburban Conference performer Named all-area and all-academic two consecutive years as well Named Libertyville team MVP in 2001 Ranked No. 75 on prepvolleyball.com s Senior Aces list. High School coach was Chris Trzyna Played for Sky High Club for two years and the Milwaukee Sting for three season Sting place second at the 2001 Open Championships. 10 5-4 SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST CLINTON, ILLINOIS CLINTON PARKLAND COLLEGE KRISTINE ANDERSON STEPHANIE HAS THE VERSATILITY TO PLAY ANY POSITION ALONG THE NET, BUT PROBABLY WILL BE BEST SUITED FOR AN OUTSIDE POSITION. HER 7-11 STANDING REACH IS ONE OF THE TALLEST ON THE TEAM. WE RE GLAD TO HAVE HER ON BOARD BECAUSE HER DAD IS AN ILLINOIS GRADUATE AND IT S NICE TO HAVE ANOTHER FAMILY WITH ILLINOIS TIES. THE FIGHTING ILLINI Coach Hardin on Alde Born March 13, 1986 Daughter of Carl and Lindsay Alde Father, Carl, graduated from Illinois with a degree in engineering Plans to major in economics/spanish Ice skated for eight years Enjoys playing the piano and art/design. KRISTINE MAY BE LEANED ON EARLY FOR BALL CONTROL, ESPECIALLY SERVE RECEIVE. SHE SEEMS VERY STEADY AND IS A VERY COMPETITIVE PLAYER. SHE IS ALREADY PROVIDING SOME LEADERSHIP, WHICH IS SURPRISING FOR SOMEONE IN AN EARLY STAGE OF HER CAREER. IT S ALSO NICE TO HAVE ANOTHER LOCAL PLAYER, JOINING HER FORMER TEAMMATE, KYLIE, IN THE FALL. Coach Hardin on Anderson PARKLAND COLLEGE Helped Parkland to its best record in school history (49-14), a season that saw the Cobras ranked number one in the nation for three weeks Led the nation and set a Parkland school record with 1,075 digs on the season while ranking fourth in the country in digs per game (6.595) Voted the Mid- West Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and named to the All- Conference first team. Four-year varsity letter-winner Helped the Maroons to a 31-7 record in 2004 Set Clinton records for digs in a season (415) and a career (940), service points in a season (216), and passing percentage for a season (.939), and a career (.931) Earned All-Okaw Valley Conference first team honors Named honorable mention All-Area by the Bloomington Pantagraph Team MVP A three-year letterwinner in track, was a member of the school-record 4x100-meter and 800 medley relay teams. Born Nov. 8, 1986 Daugther of Rick and Diane Anderson Brother, Blake, attended Illinois Named Chicago Tribune All-State Scholar Salutatorian of high school graduating class. 16 NCAA BIDS // 9 SWEET 16S // 2 FINAL FOURS // 33
8 AMELIA COLEMAN 5-10 SENIOR OUTSIDE HITTER MONTICELLO, ILLINOIS MONTICELLO IT'S EXTREMELY RARE TO FIND A STUDENT WHO, LATER IN HER ACADEMIC CAREER, DECIDES TO TRY OUT FOR A VARSITY SPORT AT THIS LEVEL. AMELIA HAS NOT ONLY TAKEN THAT BRAVE DIRECTION, BUT PROVEN HERSELF THROUGH THE SPRING TRAINING PERIOD TO BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE TEAM IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES. SHE IS A VERY STRONG ATHLETE AND Played club rugby at Illinois Named the team s Rookie of the Year in 2003 and Most Improved Foward in 2004 for a team that reached the Sweet 16. Named Team MVP in 2002 Named to the News-Gazette All-Area team in 2002 after earning honorable mention all-area in 2001 First team All- Okaw Conference in 2002 after earning second team all-conference accolades in 2001 Named to the Mahomet-Seymour All-Tournament team twice Coached by Jennifer Cekander at Monticello High School Played for Primetime and Illini Elite club teams 5 ASHLEY EDINGER 5-9 LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA MICHIGAN CITY LEARNS QUICKLY. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE HER. Coach Hardin on Coleman Born July 5, 1985 Daughter of Jim and Teri Coleman Father received his B.S., M.S. & Ph.D. at Illinois and is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the U of I Mother participated in volleyball, basketball, and track at Parkland College Majoring in linguistics with plans to become a language preservation researcher Enjoys reading and needlecraft. ASHLEY IS WELL-KNOWN IN THE VOLLEYBALL CIRCLE AS PERHAPS THE BEST LIBERO IN THIS CLASS, NATIONWIDE. ALTHOUGH SHE IS AN EXCELLENT OUTSIDE HITTER FOR HER AND CLUB PROGRAMS, HER TRUE TALENTS WILL BE FEATURED AT THE LIBERO POSITION. SHE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PASSER AND HAS OUTSTANDING ANTICIPATION SKILLS ON DEFENSE. SHE IS ALWAYS Named one of the Top 50 Senior Aces and the top libero nationally by prepvolleyball.com Has been ranked among the top 50 players in her class each year by the publication Named first team All-State and the Duneland Athletic Conference MVP in High school coach was Vera Jones Three-time first team All-State selection Named All-Area Player of the Year three times as well The Wolves won the Michigan City Invitational, claimed the sectional title and were the regional runners-up in 2004 Played for the USA Volleyball Youth National Team that traveled to China to participate in the U18 World Championships. Has been a member and team captain of the Dunes Volleyball Club (coached by Rick Ashmore) for nine years, earning All-America honors at the USA Junior Olympic National Championships Holds Michigan City High School season and career records for kills (570 in and 1,644 overall), attack percentage (.488 in and.457 overall), digs (499 in 2004 and 1,712 overall), and aces (140 in 2004 and 427 overall) ONE STEP AHEAD OF WHERE THE PLAY SHOULD BE, WILL BE A VERY EXCITING ADDITION TO OUR PROGRAM AND, I PREDICT, A CROWD FAVORITE. SHE ALSO HAS AN EXPLOSIVE JUMP SERVE AND WILL BE COUNTED ON IMMEDIATELY IN OUR PLANS. Coach Hardin on Edinger Born Feb 5, 1988 Daughter of Holt and Julie Edinger Graduated No. 1 in her high school class with a perfect 4.0 GPA Plans to major in biology (pre-med) with plans to become an orthopedic surgeon Enjoys physical fitness, dogs and arts & crafts Member of National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society, school newspaper, the science club and the steering committee for the Red Ribbon Committee. Won the national title in the 2001 NFL Gatorade Punt, Pass, and Kick contest. Earned three state titles and was also national runner-up one season in that event. 34 // 2006 ILLINOIS VOLLEYBALL
15 5-11 OUTSIDE HITTER CLINTON, ILLINOIS CLINTON Two-time Champaign News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year Threetime All-Okaw Valley Conference performer Received numerous all-area accolades from the Bloomington Pantagraph, the Decatur Herald & Review, and the News-Gazette Shattered Clinton High School record for career kills with 1,342, topping the old record of 896 Her 500 kills in 2004 also is a new record Playing for head coach Katie Maubach, McCulley was named to eight all-tournament teams in the three seasons Her career numbers include 1,342 kills, 263 blocks, and 527 digs Competed for the Illini Elite Club team (coached by Chris Belshe, Lane O Conner, and Andy Erinss) Helped the Illini Elite to a third-place finish at the 17U National Division in the Junior Olympics following a fifth-place finish in the 16U division in 2004. 6 AMY PALASH 5-10 JUNIOR OUTSIDE HITTER WHEATON, ILLINOIS ST. FRANCIS VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY KYLIE MCCULLEY THE FIGHTING ILLINI KYLIE WILL HAVE PERHAPS THE BEST VERTICAL JUMP WE HAVE SEEN IN MANY YEARS OF ILLINOIS VOLLEYBALL. HER EFFORTLESS JUMP, COMBINED WITH HER LONG REACH, WILL HELP HER EXCEL AGAINST BIG TEN COMPETITION. SHE IS ALSO GAINING SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE ON DEFENSE AND SERVE RECEIVE. WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE A LOCAL PRODUCT WHO IS CAPABLE OF MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT TO OUR PROGRAM. Coach Hardin on McCulley Born Oct. 20, 1987 Daughter of Michael and Becky McCulley Plans to major in elementary education Member of DOVE Vacation Bible School helper Enjoys hiking, swimming and working with kids Several relatives attended the U of I and her uncle, Kevin Kline, is a professor of animal sciences at Illinois. "AMY IS A TREMENDOUS ALL-AROUND PLAYER WITH EXCELLENT ATHLETIC ABILITY. HER STYLE OF PLAY, HER ENERGY, AND HER WORK ETHIC MADE HER A GREAT FIT FOR OUR PROGRAM. WE ALSO LIKE THE FACT THAT SHE IS FROM ILLINOIS AND FROM A SCHOOL IN ST. FRANCIS WITH A RICH VOLLEYBALL TRADITION. Coach Hardin on Palash AT VALPARAISO First team All-Mid Continent Conference performer in, leading the Crusaders to the Mid-Con title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament Totaled 15 double-doubles and ranked fourth in the conference with a team-leading 3.46 kills per game Named to the 2004 Mid-Con All-Freshman Team and has been named both the conference's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week. Named a Prep Volleyball All-American Helped St. Francis to back-to-back IHSA Class A state titles in 2002 and 2003 Two-time Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year Three-time All-SCC All-Conference performer Played on three straight conference championship teams Earned All-State from the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, and Champaign News-Gazette in 2003 after earning second team All-State accolades in 2002 Named to the IHSA All-State Tournament Team and honored as All-Area Player of the Year by the Leader/Press/Post/News Earned All-SCC, All-Area and team MVP honors in basketball Honored as the 2003-2004 Female Athlete of the Year at St. Francis. Born July 11, 1986 Daughter of Allen and Carolyn Palash Enjoys music, shopping, and working out Majoring in secondary education and mathematics Named an Illinois State Scholar Member of Math Team Named Academic All-Conference in basketball and volleyball. 16 NCAA BIDS // 9 SWEET 16S // 2 FINAL FOURS // 35