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Dec. 1, 2008

Park Ridge, Ill. -

Complete All-Big Ten teams in PDF Format

Three Illinois players garnered post-season honors from the Big Ten Conference, as announced live on the Big Ten Network Monday. Right side hitter Michelle Bartsch was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year; sophomore outside hitter Laura DeBruler was a unanimous choice as All-Big Ten; and Johannah Bangert was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Lizzie Bazzetta, meanwhile, was Illinois' representative on the Big Ten Sportsmanship team.

Bartsch has been valuable to Illinois, first for her outstanding blocking and lately for her offense. The graduate of Collinsville High School played middle blocker for the United States Junior National Team this summer and led the Americans to the gold at the NORCECA Games. Bartsch earned the top server at the international event. This fall, it's been Bartsch's presence on the right side that has been a big reason why the Illini moved from 10th in the Big Ten to 15th in the country in blocks. During conference matches, she is seventh in the league in blocks at 1.21 per set. For the year, Bartsch has 124 blocks and 280 kills.

DeBruler has emerged as one of the forces in the Big Ten this season, leading the conference in kills (541, 4.62 per set) for the second straight season, a mark that ranks sixth in the country. She also led the league in points per set at 5.14 while hitting a strong .254 for the year. DeBruler was three times named Big Ten Player of the Week, giving her five honors for her career. She earned AVCA and CVU.com National Player of the Week on Sept. 1 after posting 31 kills in a comeback win over no. 7 Oregon. Her 1,118 career kills are the second most by an Illinois player through her sophomore season. The Downers Grove, Ill., native showed herself to be a solid passer as well, ranking among the Big Ten's top ten in digs much of the season and posting Illinois' first 20-20 performance in six years with 24 kills and 22 digs vs. Minnesota on Oct. 3.

Bangert not only led the conference, but also the nation in blocks this season, doing so by a comfortable margin. T native of Washington, Mo., averaged 1.61 blocks per set compared to second-place Amanda Gil of UCLA at 1.49. Bangert earned two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors this year, first on Nov. 3 for combining for 15 blocks and hitting over .500 in wins over Ohio State and Michigan and then on Nov. 24 after posting nine blocks vs. both Purdue and Michigan St. She also earned All-Tournament at the Billiken Invitational. Her 188 blocks this season are second only to Denise Fracaro's 225 in 1984 in Illinois history.

The Big Ten also released its Sportmanship winners from each team. Senior setter Lizzie Bazzetta earned the honor from Illinois. The four-year regular will finish her career fourth on Illinois' all-time assist list. She has also been a steadying force for the Illini down the stretch, having posted nine double-doubles on the year.

Illinois earned the no. 9 national seed in the NCAA Tournament and opens play at home Friday night at 7 pm vs. UW-Milwaukee.