2012 Illini Volleyball Offseason Thread

[Thacher_H_Guild]

Illinois continues to recruit very well in volleyball, with the latest being Michelle Strizak out of Ohio.

In 2010, Strizak was selected to the U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team. The same year, she was named to Prepvolleyball.com's national Soph 79 list and earned second-team all-state honors. http://www.illinihq.com/sports/illin...-illinois.html

[JSpence]

Originally Posted by Thacher_H_Guild

Illinois continues to recruit very well in volleyball, with the latest being Michelle Strizak out of Ohio.

Great news! We love to see our Illini family get bigger!

"The school has every thing that I wanted," Strizak wrote in an e-mail to The News-Gazette. "Strong academics, support from both the administration and the student body, and the goal and ability to win a national championship.

"I love the coaching staff and feel confident that them, along with the players, will be my second family."

Even her priorities are listed in a great order. Welcome, Michelle!


[insert icon of Huff here!]

[HeartofaChampion]

Originally Posted by JSpence

Great news! We love to see our Illini family get bigger!



Even her priorities are listed in a great order. Welcome, Michelle!


[insert icon of Huff here!]

[wILL-INI]

HAMBONE doing it again! Student Section shout out too. Our recruiting reach is really growing too. We own the midwest (Stark from Iowa, McMahon/Strizak from Ohio, from the same class Stadick from Wisconsin) This is awesome.

WELCOME TO THE ILLINI FAMILY!

[carmelillini]

VB and Men's Golf are the shining stars of Illini sports programs.

[mdonsbach]

I have searched for this before but is there a prospect ranking somewhere online? I know it isn't as popular as football or basketball but I figure someone out there has some rankings.

[wILL-INI]

prepvolleyball does all the rankings, but they cost a fee. They have a whole forum, and news website...

[Dan]

Volleyball Magazine Tabs Hambly As Nation's Top Coach

Bartsch, Ward honored as All-Americans

Volleyball Magazine has released its postseason honors for the 2011 season and Illinois' Kevin Hambly has been named the publication's National Coach of the Year. VBM also named Michelle Bartsch a first-team All-American and Colleen Ward a second-team All-American.

Hambly, in his eighth year at Illinois and third as head coach, led Illinois to the national runner-up spot last month. The Illini spent four weeks at No. 1 in both the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls, the first time the Illini reached that pinnacle. The Illini swept the season series from four-time defending national champion Penn State for the first time in school history and earned the No. 3 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

http://www.fightingillini.com/sports...011312aaa.html

[Thacher_H_Guild]

CHAMPAIGN — Sophomore Jazmine Orozco, a member of the Illinois volleyball team's No. 7-ranked recruiting class in 2010, is leaving the program.

Orozco has asked for and received a release from her scholarship. The 6-foot-1 outside/right-side hitter will continue to take classes at the UI through the spring semester.
http://www.illinihq.com/sports/illin...epperdine.html

This is too bad, but I hope she has nothing but good luck from here on out (including no more problems with injuries).

[Dan]

90 photos from last night's volleyball banquet posted by Cary Frye on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7069256&type=3

[Dan]

Illinois Extends Kevin Hambly's Contract

National Coach of the Year under contract through 2016 season

Illinois head volleyball coach Kevin Hambly and the University of Illinois have agreed to a contract extension that keeps Volleyball Magazine's National Coach of the Year in Champaign through January 31, 2017.

"I believe Coach Hambly is one of the top volleyball coaches in the country," Illinois Director of Athletics Mike Thomas said. "With Kevin, our teams have succeeded at the highest level on the court as well as in the classroom. He has developed a family-oriented culture and positive environment that is unparalleled in the game. Our volleyball team wins with class. Under Coach Hambly's leadership, we will compete annually for our ultimate goal and that is to win national championships."

Hambly has posted a record of 82-20 in his three years as head coach at Illinois, including a 32-5 mark in 2011. Only three Illinois teams in history won more than 32 games, in a season. The Simi Valley, Calif., native guided the Illini to their first Final Four in 23 years and third in school history and to the school's first ever appearance in an NCAA title game.

http://www.fightingillini.com/sports...021012aab.html

[illynifan34]

:hh:

That second one idicates a need for a Huff Hall emoticon.

[Dan]

Coach Hambly's new contract is worth $145,000. #Illini

http://twitter.com/wdwswhmsnews

[Thacher_H_Guild]

Worth every penny!

[ilphotog]

And Thomas has stated that they are looking to make some upgrades at Huff, maybe not a complete overhaul but at least some improvements.

[Joel Goodson]

Originally Posted by Thacher_H_Guild

Worth every penny!

No doubt about it.

[Dan]

Hambly: 'It's hard to beat this place'

"It's nice that they feel comfortable about that," Hambly said of the school's five-year commitment. "Contracts typically have been more like three-year deals here. The fact that they're investing five years in me is exciting."

Hambly receives a $25,000 bump in base salary to $125,000. With bonuses, his total annual salary goes to $145,000.

http://www.illinihq.com/sports/illin...eat-place.html

[Jabber Jabber]

Does anybody know how Hambly's contract matches up with the other top coaches in the nation or Big Ten?

Texas, Nebraska, UCLA, Penn St., Florida, etc.

[carmelillini]

Another smart move by Mike Thomas. He has another one to make in April.

[Joel Goodson]

Originally Posted by carmelillini

Another smart move by Mike Thomas. He has another one to make in April.

Actually, two. Jolette Law has been a disaster; she's driven the women's basketball program into the ground. The ONLY rationale for retaining her is to save money.

[IlliniBacker]

Originally Posted by Jabber Jabber

Does anybody know how Hambly's contract matches up with the other top coaches in the nation or Big Ten?

Texas, Nebraska, UCLA, Penn St., Florida, etc.

I was wondering the same thing. I hope Thomas has the sense to make Hambly's compensation on par with the top volleyball schools in the country.

[Thacher_H_Guild]

Originally Posted by IlliniBacker

I was wondering the same thing. I hope Thomas has the sense to make Hambly's compensation on par with the top volleyball schools in the country.

Most of the top schools are public universities and you can find that info if you snoop around a bit. For example, John Cook makes $350k at Nebraska. See page 246.

http://nlc1.nlc.state.ne.us/epubs/U0...3-201112v1.pdf

Jerritt Elliott at Texas makes $160k.

http://www.texastribune.org/library/...s/1419/?page=2

I doubt you'd find the info for USC (because they are private), but one can look up most of the publics (although Penn State is famously stingy with info).

[Tophe]

Congrats to Coach Hambly on the new contract. I hope he stays for a long, long time.

[Buster]

The Volleyball program is the model for all the others to follow.

[jmontgo3]

Originally Posted by Thacher_H_Guild

This is too bad, but I hope she has nothing but good luck from here on out (including no more problems with injuries).

How strange. Wonder if she became too homesick. With Ward and Bartsch leaving playing time is completely up for grabs. Best of luck to her, shame she had poor injury luck last season.