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Jan. 25, 2007

Champaign, Ill. - Ron Zook isn't the only Illinois coach sending a buzz through the country with his recruiting classes. The Class of 2007, complimented by the Class of 2006, promises to signal a return to the national spotlight for Head Coach Don Hardin and Illini volleyball. In 2006, Illinois garnered the top libero in the nation in Ashley Edinger. Edinger bought into the system, as did two more of the top 50 players in the country and two more ranked in top 100 from this year's senior class, including one of the nation's top setters, Hillary Haen.

In fact, Haen couldn't wait to get to Illinois that she graduated from Prairie Ridge High School in December and is enrolling this semester to get a head start on the 2007 season. In doing so, Haen, ranked anywhere from 1-3 among setters nationally, forfeited the opportunity to win a USA Junior national championship with Club Fusion, one of the favorites again this season. But her focus is on making Illinois a serious contender in the Big Ten and nationally.

"I had wrapped up things nicely in high school and really wanted to get a head start on training," Haen said. "We have a lot we want to accomplish in these next four years."

Illinois, ranked among the top 20 in a recent survey of the top programs in the history of collegiate volleyball, has made it to 16 NCAA Tournaments, nine Sweet 16s and two Final Fours, but has just two Sweet 16 appearances since 1992. So when Hardin had a pair of openings on his staff three years ago, he made a commitment - to set the bar higher on future recruiting classes.

To do so he hired Kevin Hambly, one of most respected young talents in the volleyball coaching world, his future wife Mary (Coleman), a member of the 1998 Sweet 16 team at Illinois, and nationally-known setter Jennifer (Flynn) Oldenburg to headline one of the top staffs in the country. Mary Hambly, new to the coaching profession, served as a full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator while Kevin finished his undergraduate degree. Mary is responsible for engineering the recruitment of the 2007 class.

Kevin Hambly served as the top assistant to perhaps the most respected voice of the game, Toshi Yoshida, and USA Volleyball. The four-year stint for Hambly included the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Over the years, Hambly has taken advantage of his position to bend the ear of some of the other top minds in the game including Carl McGowan, Hambly's coach at BYU who has won two NCAA national titles and coached in six world championships and six Olympics. He has learned from such international names as George Lafitta Eugenio from Cuba and "Jenny" Lang Ping, the current USA coach.

As of the first of the year, Hardin has officially announced Kevin Hambly as the full-time assistant; where he directs practice and evaluates future talent, while Mary Hambly will continue to coordinate on-campus visits booster club activities, mentor athletes and director summer camps as a volunteer assistant. Steve Oldenburg, husband of assistant coach Jen Oldenburg, officially takes over as the team's strength coach, further cementing the family atmosphere.

"The first major piece is what Don wants out of this program - to have a family atmosphere," Kevin Hambly said. "He's done a great job of not just talking about it, but in truly creating it."

Selling the Illinois program

In developing a recruiting strategy, Mary Hambly said, "What was most alarming for the 2007 class was the number in that class (5). We wanted to first and foremost bring in athletes. We can coach them to be better volleyball players, but it's more difficult to coach them to jump higher or to be faster. We also wanted to attract some all-around players that can do everything or have the potential for that, a hitter than also play back row for instance."

"You'll see a difference in how fast we're jumping off the floor, how fast they're moving along the net," Kevin Hambly said of what fans can expect next season.

"The plan depended on Mary and Kevin and their roles," Hardin said. "Kevin is one of the most respected minds in our field, and he wanted to prepare himself for college coaching. While he completed his degree, we had to depend on Mary to recruit and she did an incredible job. The class that we have signed is probably one of the best we've had. Mary is an excellent mentor to our athletes, so with her helping on a volunteer basis now, it's nice that the players she recruited will have the consistency."

It also was important to re-establish a pipeline of players from the talent-rich state of Illinois. The 2007 class has four players from Illinois and one from the St. Louis area in Missouri. When the Chicago Sun-Times released its all-area first team, writes Phil Brozynski noted, "The University of Illinois and Illinois high school volleyball fans are big winners based on the selections to the 2006 Sun-Times All-Area Girls Volleyball team."

The first rule of thumb in any sales role is believing in the product, which everyone involved with Illinois volleyball genuinely does. "For me it was an easy sell," Mary Hambly said. "Academically, Illinois is top notch. As we got players on campus and had them meet with professors and advisors, it sold itself academically. I feel very passionate about making sure this program succeeds. I really think it should be near the top of the Big Ten every year. I love Illinois, I love Champaign, and I love the community. It has all the components to be successful. Our recruits sensed that there was going to be a shift in the next few years and they wanted to be a part of it."

"First Illinois has always provided a good experience," Hardin added. "Players are proud of the program when they leave. They feel good about their experience here. However, we've also needed to move forward competitively. Recruits and prospects who are out there and serious about their futures see the addition of Kevin on staff as someone who is going to improve our training and augment what we do to meet players' needs who want to go on to the next level after college. They also see Mary, who has been through the experience as a player and has been coached by Kevin (professionally in Minnesota, as someone to serve as an effective mentor. Jen was a former national team player and has international experience and a successful Big Ten career (at Ohio State). They see the staffing as moving in a very positive direction."

The pieces of the puzzle

The Class of 2007, complimented by the returnees, has the components to be able to succeed at the highest level.

"Hillary is a leader and someone people want to follow," Kevin Hambly said. "She's been extremely successful everywhere she's been. She's a great setter, but I think it has more to do with how she is as a person.

"We needed a couple of players that were skilled; we really wanted pass-hitters because want to add a back-row attack," he noted. "We found that in Laura DeBruler (5-10, OH, Downers Grove North). Nicole Kump (6-1, MB, Joliet Catholic) is someone that can pass, get to the outside and hit a quick set out of the back row. We needed a high quality setter that could run that offense, someone that can deliver the ball and understands tempo, and we have that in Hillary.

"Johanna Bangert (6-1, MB, Washington, Mo.) is super fast," Hambly added. "She's a great track athlete and is all over the place on the court. She has the ability to move laterally faster than anyone we have, even Vicki (Brown). Johnanna's ability to block balls is at a different level than most kids coming out of high school.

"Abby Nelson (6-3, MB, Chicago Marist) is a physical specimen. She is a big physical, strong middle that is probably the most intimidating kid that we'll have.

"One of the kids that I think fans are really going to like watching is Laura DeBruler because of our style of play and how well she fits that. She can pass, get on balls fast and has a really, really live arm. She's going to have some electric moments where she is gets on a ball fast and bounces it. The place is going to go crazy watching her.

"For us to take the step in the right direction, we felt that these were the type of players we needed to get. For us to continue to get better and move up in the Big Ten, we need some more physical kids. The kids that we're looking at right now have similar qualities, but are just a little more physical. They need to be able to take swings out of system."

Illinois primed for success

The current class joins Edinger and fellow sophomore, outside hitter Kylie McCulley..

"Ashley was the first one to really trust in where we here headed," Mary Hambly recalled. "She had a lot of offers and was still being recruited by top-level programs even after she committed. The next class of recruits said `You have Ashley as a libero; she is amazing.' People didn't know about Kylie until a little later because she had injuries that kept her out of club season. We asked our '07 girls to check her out and see what they thought. They all said she's going to be something else."

"We only have about a third of our system in place because didn't have those pass hitters," Kevin Hambly said. "Kylie is starting to develop into that, and through spring and into next season you'll be able to see a drastic change in what she's doing as far as how we use her defensively and offensively," Kevin Hambly said. "With Laura DeBruler and Amy Palash coming along, you'll see a drastic difference in that area."

The newcomers also join junior Lizzie Bazzetta, the Big Ten's leader in assists last year. Defensive specialist Kristine Anderson, dubbed "Dash" by Hardin and the coaching staff after the "Incredibles'" kid wonder for her ability to dive after balls in the back row, returns from ACL surgery. That will enable Illinois to get the ball to highlight producing middle blocker, senior Vicki Brown, and junior outside hitter Kayani Turner, who specializes in attacking out of system. Rachel Henderson and Stefanie Alde return at middle blocker and outside hitter, respectively.

For Hardin and the Illini, the patience is paying off. After suffering through some unusual injury and health situations, Illinois has been thin at several positions the past few seasons. "We could have replaced those players with short term fixes that might have hurt us in the long run, or we could bite the bullet and bring a large and talented class that was waiting," Hardin said. "We decided to do the latter. They're going to be young this fall, but at least we're going to have a complete line-up."