Nov. 21, 2005

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rachel VanMeter, Illinois
SR, OH, Lexington, Ky./Dorman, S.C.

VanMeter set a new Illinois single-match record with 99 attacks in a thrilling 3-2 upset against No. 18 Purdue last week.  The 99 attempts rank fifth all-time in Big Ten history as well.  Her 39 kills tied her season-high set on Aug. 27 versus Illinois State, a mark that ranks her third all-time in school history.  VanMeter is the only player to have at least 35 kills in two different matches in a season in Illinois history. She now has 1,616 career kills, just 31 away from fourth on the Illinois all-time list. Her 626 kills in 2005 are the second best of any season in school history.  She also posted 26 kills in her final game at Huff Hall against Indiana.  On the weekend, she tallied an average of 8.1 kills and 2.6 digs per game.

LAST ILL POW:  Rachel VanMeter (8/29/05)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Beth Vrdsky, Illinois
JR, LIB, Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South

This past week, Vrdsky helped Illinois win two matches, including a five-game victory over No. 18 Purdue.  She helped the Fighting Illini hold the Boilermakers to a .182 hitting percentage and Indiana to just .153 in a 3-0 sweep over the Hoosiers.  Against Purdue, she recorded 31 digs on 32 reception attempts.  Her 15 digs against Indiana gave her a total of 46 for the weekend and an average of 5.8 per game.

This is the first career Big Ten weekly honor of Vrdsky.

LAST ILL DPOW:  Vrdsky is the first.