University of Illinois Men's Volleyball

Hambly has taken Illinois volleyball to new heights in his tenure in Champaign. Heading into his eighth year as head coach, Illinois is 161-72 with seven trips to the NCAA Sweet 16, including 2011s historic run to the national championship match. As a result, Hambly was named 2011 Volleyball Magazines National Coach of the Year. Following the season, then-director of athletics Mike Thomas announced an extension of Hamblys contract through the 2016 season. After 2014, Hambly received an additional three-year extension, signing him through 2019. In 2014, Hamblys Illini knocked off seven ranked opponents, including winning at eventual national champion No. 5 Penn State and No. 13 Nebraska in the same week to become the first team since 1991 and third ever to win in Happy Valley and Lincoln in the same season. The Illini went a nearly-flawless 14-1 at home, were ranked in the top 16 all season, and took just one 3-set loss on the year, finishing 26-8 over and placing third in the Big Ten at 16-4. Sweeps of Murray State and Iowa State punched a ticket to his fifth NCAA Regional, where the #9-seeded Illini were halted by #8-seed Florida in an epic five-set battle with a 16-14 final-set score. Several Illini took home awards in 2014, as Jocelynn Birks became a two-time All-American with a Second Team selection, and Liz McMahon became the first Illini ever to earn the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, also earning an All-America and All-Big Ten honorable mention along with Academic All-District. Additionally, Anna Dorn became the first Illini to tally three Academic All-District First Team awards and was the fourth Illini in program history to be tabbed as an Academic All-American. In 2013, Hambly guided the Fighting Illini through the most difficult schedule in the nation, in which the Illini captured 10 wins during a school-record 22 matches against ranked opponents. The Illini were the only team in the country to face all four teams that reached the Final Four and took on eight of the 10 teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Top 10. Despite the monstrous slate, Hambly led the Orange and Blue to a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten in a year in which the conference was arguably the best it had ever been and by far the strongest conference in the nation. After a rough non-conference slate, the Illini entered Big Ten play sitting at 4-6 on the year. A tremendous second-half push in which the Orange and Blue won seven of their final nine matches punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 13 overall seed. The Illini defeated Morehead State and No. 22 Marquette to return to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years under Hambly, where No. 19 Purdue finally ended Illinois run. Three Illini earned postseason honors under Hambly in 2013, as sophomore Jocelynn Birks was named Third-Team AVCA All-America, First-Team All-Northeast Region and was a unanimous All-Big Ten selection. Senior Jennifer Beltran, who became Illinois all-time career digs leader early in the season and finished ranked second all-time in the Big Ten, captured All-America honorable mention and All-Region honors, while junior Liz McMahon claimed All-Region and All-Big Ten honorable mentions. In a tough act to follow situation, a young 2012 team faced several challenges. With two rookies and a sophomore replacing a pair of All-American outside hitters, Hamblys team had a lot to learn in seemingly no time at all, facing the third-most difficult schedule in the nation. The Illini swept No. 15 Iowa State in the 2012 home opener, then closed out the pre-conference season with a sweep of the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational, which included a road victory over eventual NCAA champion No. 6 Texas. Other season highlights included a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Michigan State, in true-freshman setter Alexis Viliunas first career start, and a 3-1 victory over future NCAA semifinalist Michigan on Senior Night. In 2011, Illinois reached several milestones. The team swept the season series from four-time defending NCAA champion Penn State for the first time in school history. Illinois was the last team to lose its first match, starting the season 20-0 and resulting in the schools first-ever No. 1 ranking. A total of six schools held the No. 1 ranking, but none for longer than Illinois. The Illini won the Gainesville Regional to advance to the programs first National Semifinal since 1988. The Illini defeated No. 1 USC in the National Semifinal in San Antonio in an epic five-set match. The final point lasted more than a minute and was one of the top plays on ESPNs SportsCenter that night. With the victory over the Women of Troy, the Illini advanced to meet UCLA in the schools first-ever national championship match. Following the championship run, Hambly was elected president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, a post he took over in January 2013 and which runs through December 2015. Illinois went 26-6 in his first year as head coach, finishing in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten and reaching the Sweet 16. His second year as a head coach brought victories over a pair of No. 2-ranked teams, including eventual national champion Penn State, who fell to the Illini in five sets in front of the first sellout at Huff Hall in 18 years. Since his arrival in Champaign, the Illini have garnered four top-10 recruiting classes, including the 2015 Class that ranked No. 1 in the nation with a pair of top-10 recruits, No. 3 Jordyn Poulter and No. 10 Ali Bastianelli. The 2011 team included 11 players who were top-60 prospects of their respective class, including Liz McMahon, who was No. 3; Anna Dorn, who was No. 6; Colleen Ward, who was No. 7; and Michelle Bartsch, who was No. 16. The 2015 team included an additional eight top-60 prospects, including the pair of top-10 incoming freshmen, as well as No. 22 Michelle Strizak and No. 26 Jocelynn Birks. Hamblys teams have gone head-to-head with some of the biggest powers of the game, both in the Big Ten and in nonconference play, and have done so with a measure of success. The Illini are 56-19 in the pre-conference schedule in the seven years with Hambly as head coach and have finished in the top four in the Big Ten conference five out of his seven times, including three runner-up performances. A total of nine players have earned 15 All-America honors, including outside hitter Laura DeBruler, who became the fourth First-Team AVCA All-American in 2009, and Ward, who accomplished that feat in 2011. In addition, Bartsch was named a 2011 First Team All-American by Volleyball Magazine. The Illini have produced in the classroom, combining for 65 Academic All-Big Ten honors in the last seven seasons, while Johannah Bangert and Anna Dorn became the third and fourth Illini ever to garner Academic All-America honors under his guidance. The Illini have also led the Big Ten in Academic All-Big Ten selections three times under his tenure, collecting 10 in 2012 and 11 in both 2014 and 2015. The interest in the volleyball program is at a height that hasnt been seen in a generation. Hambly is involved in the community, a regular requested speaker for area groups. He conducts Chalk Talks for the Illinois volleyball booster club, The Networkers, before every home game, giving fans an inside look at the scouting report for that nights match. Membership in that organization continues to grow. That has translated in a spike in attendance where the team had three crowds of 3,900 or more in 2011, including a sellout crowd of 4,261 in an undefeated showdown with Purdue. The 2012 season featured five crowds of 3,000 or more, including the largest opening-night crowd in Illini history, when 3,770 fans Stuffed Huff for the home opener against No. 15 Iowa State and the 2011 NCAA banner-raising ceremony. Illinois had an additional five 3,000+ crowds in 2013, including a mark of 7,061 against Iowa at State Farm Center, the largest volleyball-only crowd in program history. The fan base in 2013 set a new all-time record for average attendance, with a mean crowd size of 3,117. Illinois posted its second-consecutive 3,000+ average in 2014, including breaking the all-time Huff record with a sellout crowd of 4,536 against No. 6 Wisconsin on the first-ever IlliNOISE Night. Thirteen of the top 20 all-time Illinois crowds have come in the Hambly era, including all four of the 4,500+ crowds ever recorded. Hambly was named the seventh head coach in the programs history and just the third in the last quarter century on Jan. 8, 2008. He replaced Don Hardin, who retired after 13 years as program head at Illinois. Hambly, who had a number of years of international coaching experience, served as assistant coach for the Fighting Illini for five years prior, the first two years as a volunteer assistant and the last three as a full-time assistant. His impact was felt in every area of the program. Hambly was in charge of practice planning, training and scouting as well as recruiting in his final years as an assistant. The level of play was raised over his time at Illinois, bringing with him many of the techniques and philosophies he developed under Toshi Yoshida, the U.S. National team coach for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With Hambly serving as an assistant coach, the U.S. went from 12th to first in the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) world rankings in the nine months leading up to the games for just the second time. In those four years, the U.S. won the NORCECA championship four years in a row, won a silver medal at the World Championships, a bronze medal at the World Cup and a gold and two bronze medals at World Grand Prix Tournaments. A native of Simi Valley, California, Hambly was an All-American in volleyball at Royal High School and went on to play at BYU, where he led the nation in blocks in 1995. Hambly was named to the Volleyball Monthly All-Freshman Team in 1992, was selected as a third-team All-American in 1994 and earned AVCA First Team All-America honors in 1995. The Cougars ended the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation three times and came within one win of the Final Four twice in Hamblys playing days. Hambly played professionally for Montpellier University Club in France, leading the league in hitting efficiency and in blocks before beginning his coaching career as an assistant at UNLV in 1997. In his four years in Las Vegas, the Rebels produced nine all-conference performers. Hambly also founded and directed the Rebel Volleyball Club, which evolved into the highly respected Club Las Vegas team, and founded the mens volleyball club team at UNLV. While at BYU, he also served as the head coach of the Highline Volleyball Clubs 16 & under teams for two years. His experience with USA Volleyball began in 2001 where, in addition to serving as an assistant for the National Team, he was also the head coach of the USA Womens National Training Team for two tournaments during his tenure. In 2002, he guided the team to fifth at the Pan American Cup in Mexico. In 2003, he led the team to third place at the Mexicali Centenarian Womens Volleyball Cup and second at the Pan American Cup. Hambly continues to serve USA Volleyball as a consultant during tryouts. In 2001-02, he served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Chill of United States Professional Volleyball, helping lead the Chill to the league championship in 2002. Hambly graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois in 2006 with a bachelors of science degree in recreation, sport and tourism with an emphasis in sports management. He and his wife Mary (Coleman) Hambly, a 1999 Illinois graduate and former Illini volleyball player, have two daughters, Quinn and Maura. Kevin Hambly has taken Illinois volleyball to new heights in his tenure in Champaign. Heading into his eighth year as head coach, Illinois is 161-72 with seven trips to the NCAA Sweet 16, including 2011s historic run to the national championship match. As a result, Hambly was named 2011 Volleyball Magazines National Coach of the Year. Following the season, then-director of athletics Mike Thomas announced an extension of Hamblys contract through the 2016 season. After 2014, Hambly received an additional three-year extension, signing him through 2019. In 2014, Hamblys Illini knocked off seven ranked opponents, including winning at eventual national champion No. 5 Penn State and No. 13 Nebraska in the same week to become the first team since 1991 and third ever to win in Happy Valley and Lincoln in the same season. The Illini went a nearly-flawless 14-1 at home, were ranked in the top 16 all season, and took just one 3-set loss on the year, finishing 26-8 over and placing third in the Big Ten at 16-4. Sweeps of Murray State and Iowa State punched a ticket to his fifth NCAA Regional, where the #9-seeded Illini were halted by #8-seed Florida in an epic five-set battle with a 16-14 final-set score. Several Illini took home awards in 2014, as Jocelynn Birks became a two-time All-American with a Second Team selection, and Liz McMahon became the first Illini ever to earn the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, also earning an All-America and All-Big Ten honorable mention along with Academic All-District. Additionally, Anna Dorn became the first Illini to tally three Academic All-District First Team awards and was the fourth Illini in program history to be tabbed as an Academic All-American. In 2013, Hambly guided the Fighting Illini through the most difficult schedule in the nation, in which the Illini captured 10 wins during a school-record 22 matches against ranked opponents. The Illini were the only team in the country to face all four teams that reached the Final Four and took on eight of the 10 teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Top 10. Despite the monstrous slate, Hambly led the Orange and Blue to a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten in a year in which the conference was arguably the best it had ever been and by far the strongest conference in the nation. After a rough non-conference slate, the Illini entered Big Ten play sitting at 4-6 on the year. A tremendous second-half push in which the Orange and Blue won seven of their final nine matches punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 13 overall seed. The Illini defeated Morehead State and No. 22 Marquette to return to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years under Hambly, where No. 19 Purdue finally ended Illinois run. Three Illini earned postseason honors under Hambly in 2013, as sophomore Jocelynn Birks was named Third-Team AVCA All-America, First-Team All-Northeast Region and was a unanimous All-Big Ten selection. Senior Jennifer Beltran, who became Illinois all-time career digs leader early in the season and finished ranked second all-time in the Big Ten, captured All-America honorable mention and All-Region honors, while junior Liz McMahon claimed All-Region and All-Big Ten honorable mentions. In a tough act to follow situation, a young 2012 team faced several challenges. With two rookies and a sophomore replacing a pair of All-American outside hitters, Hamblys team had a lot to learn in seemingly no time at all, facing the third-most difficult schedule in the nation. The Illini swept No. 15 Iowa State in the 2012 home opener, then closed out the pre-conference season with a sweep of the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational, which included a road victory over eventual NCAA champion No. 6 Texas. Other season highlights included a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Michigan State, in true-freshman setter Alexis Viliunas first career start, and a 3-1 victory over future NCAA semifinalist Michigan on Senior Night. In 2011, Illinois reached several milestones. The team swept the season series from four-time defending NCAA champion Penn State for the first time in school history. Illinois was the last team to lose its first match, starting the season 20-0 and resulting in the schools first-ever No. 1 ranking. A total of six schools held the No. 1 ranking, but none for longer than Illinois. The Illini won the Gainesville Regional to advance to the programs first National Semifinal since 1988. The Illini defeated No. 1 USC in the National Semifinal in San Antonio in an epic five-set match. The final point lasted more than a minute and was one of the top plays on ESPNs SportsCenter that night. With the victory over the Women of Troy, the Illini advanced to meet UCLA in the schools first-ever national championship match. Following the championship run, Hambly was elected president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, a post he took over in January 2013 and which runs through December 2015. Illinois went 26-6 in his first year as head coach, finishing in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten and reaching the Sweet 16. His second year as a head coach brought victories over a pair of No. 2-ranked teams, including eventual national champion Penn State, who fell to the Illini in five sets in front of the first sellout at Huff Hall in 18 years. Since his arrival in Champaign, the Illini have garnered four top-10 recruiting classes, including the 2015 Class that ranked No. 1 in the nation with a pair of top-10 recruits, No. 3 Jordyn Poulter and No. 10 Ali Bastianelli. The 2011 team included 11 players who were top-60 prospects of their respective class, including Liz McMahon, who was No. 3; Anna Dorn, who was No. 6; Colleen Ward, who was No. 7; and Michelle Bartsch, who was No. 16. The 2015 team included an additional eight top-60 prospects, including the pair of top-10 incoming freshmen, as well as No. 22 Michelle Strizak and No. 26 Jocelynn Birks. Hamblys teams have gone head-to-head with some of the biggest powers of the game, both in the Big Ten and in nonconference play, and have done so with a measure of success. The Illini are 56-19 in the pre-conference schedule in the seven years with Hambly as head coach and have finished in the top four in the Big Ten conference five out of his seven times, including three runner-up performances. A total of nine players have earned 15 All-America honors, including outside hitter Laura DeBruler, who became the fourth First-Team AVCA All-American in 2009, and Ward, who accomplished that feat in 2011. In addition, Bartsch was named a 2011 First Team All-American by Volleyball Magazine. The Illini have produced in the classroom, combining for 65 Academic All-Big Ten honors in the last seven seasons, while Johannah Bangert and Anna Dorn became the third and fourth Illini ever to garner Academic All-America honors under his guidance. The Illini have also led the Big Ten in Academic All-Big Ten selections three times under his tenure, collecting 10 in 2012 and 11 in both 2014 and 2015. The interest in the volleyball program is at a height that hasnt been seen in a generation. Hambly is involved in the community, a regular requested speaker for area groups. He conducts Chalk Talks for the Illinois volleyball booster club, The Networkers, before every home game, giving fans an inside look at the scouting report for that nights match. Membership in that organization continues to grow. That has translated in a spike in attendance where the team had three crowds of 3,900 or more in 2011, including a sellout crowd of 4,261 in an undefeated showdown with Purdue. The 2012 season featured five crowds of 3,000 or more, including the largest opening-night crowd in Illini history, when 3,770 fans Stuffed Huff for the home opener against No. 15 Iowa State and the 2011 NCAA banner-raising ceremony. Illinois had an additional five 3,000+ crowds in 2013, including a mark of 7,061 against Iowa at State Farm Center, the largest volleyball-only crowd in program history. The fan base in 2013 set a new all-time record for average attendance, with a mean crowd size of 3,117. Illinois posted its second-consecutive 3,000+ average in 2014, including breaking the all-time Huff record with a sellout crowd of 4,536 against No. 6 Wisconsin on the first-ever IlliNOISE Night. Thirteen of the top 20 all-time Illinois crowds have come in the Hambly era, including all four of the 4,500+ crowds ever recorded. Hambly was named the seventh head coach in the programs history and just the third in the last quarter century on Jan. 8, 2008. He replaced Don Hardin, who retired after 13 years as program head at Illinois. Hambly, who had a number of years of international coaching experience, served as assistant coach for the Fighting Illini for five years prior, the first two years as a volunteer assistant and the last three as a full-time assistant. His impact was felt in every area of the program. Hambly was in charge of practice planning, training and scouting as well as recruiting in his final years as an assistant. The level of play was raised over his time at Illinois, bringing with him many of the techniques and philosophies he developed under Toshi Yoshida, the U.S. National team coach for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With Hambly serving as an assistant coach, the U.S. went from 12th to first in the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) world rankings in the nine months leading up to the games for just the second time. In those four years, the U.S. won the NORCECA championship four years in a row, won a silver medal at the World Championships, a bronze medal at the World Cup and a gold and two bronze medals at World Grand Prix Tournaments. A native of Simi Valley, California, Hambly was an All-American in volleyball at Royal High School and went on to play at BYU, where he led the nation in blocks in 1995. Hambly was named to the Volleyball Monthly All-Freshman Team in 1992, was selected as a third-team All-American in 1994 and earned AVCA First Team All-America honors in 1995. The Cougars ended the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation three times and came within one win of the Final Four twice in Hamblys playing days. Hambly played professionally for Montpellier University Club in France, leading the league in hitting efficiency and in blocks before beginning his coaching career as an assistant at UNLV in 1997. In his four years in Las Vegas, the Rebels produced nine all-conference performers. Hambly also founded and directed the Rebel Volleyball Club, which evolved into the highly respected Club Las Vegas team, and founded the mens volleyball club team at UNLV. While at BYU, he also served as the head coach of the Highline Volleyball Clubs 16 & under teams for two years. His experience with USA Volleyball began in 2001 where, in addition to serving as an assistant for the National Team, he was also the head coach of the USA Womens National Training Team for two tournaments during his tenure. In 2002, he guided the team to fifth at the Pan American Cup in Mexico. In 2003, he led the team to third place at the Mexicali Centenarian Womens Volleyball Cup and second at the Pan American Cup. Hambly continues to serve USA Volleyball as a consultant during tryouts. In 2001-02, he served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Chill of United States Professional Volleyball, helping lead the Chill to the league championship in 2002. Hambly graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois in 2006 with a bachelors of science degree in recreation, sport and tourism with an emphasis in sports management. He and his wife Mary (Coleman) Hambly, a 1999 Illinois graduate and former Illini volleyball player, have two daughters, Quinn and Maura.

Kaler Assistant Director of Academic Services, Student Development Alma Mater: Eastern Illinois '79 Kathy Kaler was named Assistant Director of Academic Services in September 2014 after 13 years as a counselor in Academic Services for the women's golf and volleyball teams. She also serves as the Life Skills Coordinator, which addresses personal growth, leadership, community service and professional development for all Illinois student-athletes. In 2005, the Life Skills Program was recognized as a Program of Excellence by the D-1A Athletic Directors Association. Prior to joining the Illini staff, Kaler was the head women's basketball coach, fitness center director and physical education instructor at Danville Area Community College. She started her professional career at Gardner-South Wilmington High School where she taught physical education/driver education and coached girls volleyball, basketball and softball. In addition to her teaching and coaching duties, Kaler served as the girls athletic director. A native of Rantoul, Ill., Kaler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from Eastern Illinois University where she played volleyball, basketball and softball. She earned a Master of Science Degree in Athletic Administration from Western Illinois University. Updated September 2014

Ballard Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Medicine/Director of Integrated Performance Alma Mater: Kansas State '99 Randy Ballard was named Associate Athletics Director - Sports Medicine in May 2016. He previously served as Director of Integrated Performance since September 2015. In his role, Randy serves as head athletic trainer with ultimate supervision of the entire athletic training staff. Randy has been a member of DIAs Sports Medicine team for 15 years.  During that time, he spearheaded the creation of the Integrated Performance Team and has been on the leading edge of new technology that enhances student-athlete performance while maintaining the highest level of safety. Randy has worked as an athletics trainer for the volleyball, cross country and track and field teams. A 1999 graduate of Kansas State University, Ballard earned his master's degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas in 2001. The Concordia, Kan., native is no stranger to working with world-class athletes. Ballard has worked as an athletic trainer several times for the USA Track & Field teams. Most recently, he served as an athletic trainer for USA Track and Field at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The previous year, Ballard was an athletic trainer for the 2007 U.S. Track & Field World Championships team in Osaka, Japan. He also served as the Head Athletic Trainer at the 2006 Cross Country World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. He has also served as therapist for numerous Olympians and world champions including Perdita Felicien, Bershawn Jackson, and Lauren Williams. Randy has a great interest and expertise in manual therapies and the rehabilitation aspects of the athletic training world. Having learned from numerous well-renowned therapists, Ballard brings a well-rounded skill set to the athletic training room. Along with being integral in the the therapy and rehabilitation aspects of sports medicine, Ballard helped develop the physical competency testing that the volleyball team uses to help assess and develop their training programming. Randy has also presented at several professional and coaching conferences on therapy, testing and rehabilitation topics. Prior to Illinois, Ballard spent three seasons as a student athletic trainer for the Kansas State athletic program before moving to Texas. In Austin, Ballard worked primarily with the Longhorn football and men's track and field programs. Randy is married to wife Lori, and has a daughter, Avery, and a son, Ryder. Updated May 2016

Kowalczyk Executive Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Sport Administration Alma Mater: Kent State '80 Paul Kowalczyk (kuh-WALL-check) is Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director - Sport Administration as of May 2016. Paul joined the Fighting Illini administrative staff as senior associate athletics director in August 2012. He served as interim Director of Athletics from November 2015 to March 2016.  Kowalczyk served as athletics director at Colorado State from 2006-2011 following his stint as AD at Southern Illinois from 2000-2006. During his time at SIU, the Salukis won 15 conference championships in seven sport programs. During his time at CSU, the Rams won 10 conference championships in four sport programs. He spent time at Northwestern as the business manager and associate athletic director/external affairs from 1991-2000 and was assistant athletic director for business operations at Kansas State from 1988-91. Kowalczyk also gained experience at Portland State as the athletic business manager from 1987 to 1988, at Youngstown State University in the marketing department and at Kent State in the development office. A native of Warren, Ohio, Kowalczyk earned his bachelor's degree in accounting at Kent State in 1980 and his master's degree in sports administration at Kent State in 1986. He was named the Athletics Director of the Year, 1-AA Central Region, by NACDA in 2006 and received the General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director Award in 2004. He was the NCAA Leadership Council Representative for the Mountain West Conference from 2008-11 and served as the AD Chair for the Mountain West in 2011. He was a member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Kowalczyk is married to Peg Lynch Kowalczyk. Updated May 2016