Here are some articles about the game and some photo galleries for your further Illini volleyball geeking. Some members (current and former) of the Illinois women's ultimate team were also interviewed for an article. We are amazing (and also sound like huge fangirls, which is either super endearing or kind of creepy ... I think it's the former).
I'm sure they'll put out a better highlight video later in the week (or at least I hope), but this is the one that IP put out right away. Possibly one of the best out calls EVER in IVB history:
Let me start out by saying that this match was one of the best live sporting events that I've ever attended in my life. I haven't figured out exactly what my Best Live Sporting Events I've Ever Attended rankings would be, but this is definitely top five, if not top three. I've had the great pleasure of watching a Bulls game at the United Center during the Michael Jordan era, and while that was probably one of the greatest sporting environments I've had the pleasure to experience, last Friday night at Huff was definitely right up there. The place was jam PACKED. I'm talking, there were people sitting way up in the corner of the balcony, like behind a piece of the wall. There were people standing, lining the walls. Huff Hall was sold out for the first time since what, '92? And there were 4141 people in attendance. The place was actually buzzing. And when the crowd got going, good heavens was it loud. The student section never lost steam, though. I loved all their cheers (except maybe not the "Oompa Loompa" one ... that one was a little mean), and I loved their energy. During that fifth set, man Huff was thundering. There were times during the match when I couldn't hear myself think. I couldn't tell if it was my heart pounding or all the fans going nuts. There was a decent contingent of Penn State fans, but the sea of orange in that gym was just breathtaking. It was great to see the whole Champaign-Urbana community and the Illinois students coming out to support the team. My beloved thesis adviser, Carol Leff, was also shown on the Big Ten Network rebroadcast, wearing an orange jacket and J.O.R.T.S. what UP! Goodness I love that woman. I also saw tons of other student-athletes at the game. I saw a lot of the women's basketball team, I saw Mike Davis, I saw most of the soccer team including Julie "Juice" Ewing, my favorite (and you can see them in some of Cary's photos), and I saw Nathan Scheelhaase and a couple of other football guys. You kind of aren't able to tell how good looking Nathan is underneath his helmet but DAMN! He was a little shorter than I imagined he would be, though. I even saw Abby Nelson and Kristine Anderson in the stands.
The match was sick. I really can't describe it. Colleen Ward is a beast. Straight up. Unbelievable steal, getting her as a transfer this year. I can't imagine what our teams would have been like if we had gotten her to come to Illinois in the first place. Erin Johnson and Johannah Bangert -- roofing the shit out of that place and putting down those kills! Michelle Bartsch -- what can't she do? Hillary Haen was setting money all over the place. I think she got up for a kill at some time during that match too, if I'm remembering correctly. Jen Bonilla is balling out as a freshman, like all the pressure and notoriety of this game doesn't even phase her. Laura DeBruler is a fucking champ for battling back from mono like that. What'd she have in that fifth set, like four kills? Sick.
I really can't say enough about the job Coach Hambly has done and about how great this team is. Penn State put up a great game, to be sure, but our girls dug deep and fought hard for the win. Shooting them was unbelievably fun. I love their passion, their excitement. I love that they look like they're having a blast when they're playing, and most importantly I love that they look like they really, genuinely like playing with each other and they like each other as people, too.
So I know all the photos are pretty horrible compared to the ones I've linked up there, but if you're interested in seeing what I've got, I've got my photos up on the 'book. I want to put up my photos from future matches up there too, so I can compare how my shooting has gotten from match to match.
These are the shots I want to get down the next time I shoot, with better equipment and a little experience under my belt:
1. FIST BUMP PHOTOS! BAH. SO ADORABLE. And I kept missing them or getting blurry photos! Bah.
2. Blocking photos:
A lot of those photos probably would have benefited from a different angle and some lighting tweaks. Once I get better equipment to work with, I'll be able to get higher quality shots from the balconies, where I'll get a better angle on their faces.3. Hitting photos:
I really LOVE that last one of Ward hitting between two blockers, but I hate how blurry it is. Once I get better equipment, this is definitely a shot I want to get. And the other hitting photos would be better taken at a different angle, that is, from the balconies. As I've said before, with better equipment, I'll be able to take better photos from that distance.4. Serve photos:
I like contrasting the server with the bench or with the audience. I actually really like the composition of the Coach Hambly/Laura serve photo, but I have the focus wrong in that picture. Once I figure out manual focus and whatnot, I'll get this, I swear!5. Celebration shots
Wahhh *Snooki voice*, just too blurry.Cary and I actually got a few of the same photos, too (my photo first, then Cary's):
These are my favorite photos that I got from the match:
Even though this is a Penn State player (and one I don't really like, at that), I still liked this shot. It was really convenient for me that her body blocked out most of the blue shirts in the crowd, so it makes for a pretty cool looking shot, a Penn State serve in front of a sea of orange.
I really like photos of DeBruler and Bangert at the net, because they're both very, very intense. I like that in both photos it looks like they're giving the stare down to some Penn State players.
Love the concentration in this photo. I would have liked it better with the ball in the frame, but I still like this a lot.
In case you can't tell, I'm OBSESSED with Colleen Ward's serve. It makes for a great photo. Next time I'd like to get that first photo a little sharper, and I'd like to include the ball in the frame. I love the composition of the second photo, but I'm gonna learn how to focus a little better, and I'm gonna crop more. I like the Penn State players a little blurry in the foreground, and Ward with the ball outstretched in front of her, in between the two players as the focus of the photo. I'd probably like a tighter shot of that.
Loved the student section. They were so emotional, so energetic, and so into the game. Everything they did made for great shots.
Just a moment of excitement between teammates. Love it.
I like Jackie Wolfe's serves a lot too, but mostly because she served right in front of me a lot. This isn't zoomed in, this is actually how close she was to me. It was awesome. I also like this picture for the same reason as a previous Ward serve photo -- I like the calm and I like the concentration you get from Wolfe before her serves.
I just love those jerseys. I think they're badass, and I would legit pay good money for one. Also, these are two of my favorite players. Pretty hard to pick favorites on this team, but they're up there.
This is arguably my favorite shot of the entire night. This was the winning out of the match, and the girls were SO hype. I loved it.What might possibly have been more exciting than the match was the about twenty to thirty minutes that followed the match. After the match I found Cary to thank him for letting me follow him around and for showing me the ropes. While all this was happening, Fozz was MEETING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH ONE JO BANGERT. GOD I WAS SO TOTES MCGOTES JEAL! Christ, I would not wash that hand if I were you, Fozz. Maybe next time hopefully that'll be me ...
Afterwards, we all got in line to get their autographs. I have to say that just behind the UConn women's basketball team, the Illinois volleyball team is probably one of the most approachable, friendliest teams I've ever seen. They were all very nice and cordial, and I love that they have a table to sign autographs and what not for everyone after every game. They seem very genuinely appreciative of their fans, and they definitely strike me as those players who won't leave the gym until everyone who wants a signature has gotten one. On that note, we missed getting Laura DeBruler's autograph (*sigh*) because she wasn't at the autograph table, so obviously we'll have to go back and get it again. The poster is sitting on my floor currently, while I look for a space on my wall for it to call its temporary home (until we get the completely autographed poster, of course). I noticed that Jo Bangert also signs in lower case letters. Not noticing any parallels between us or anything. Sarah said she was nervous that when we got to Erin "L.A.G." Johnson, that she'd be like, "That's the one who follows me!" I bet she said that after we made our way through that line. Yikes. But it was kind of breathtaking to be so close to the "Legit a Giant". GOD she is tall. Like 'an entire ruler taller than I am'-tall. Goodness.
We gathered about a foot away from the table to j our p's and gush about what had just transpired when Fozz noticed Blair Brown and some of her teammates standing just a few feet away from us. In case you don't know, Blair Brown is 6'5 (so legitimately gargantuan) and probably one of the best, if not the best, right side hitters in the country right now. We didn't have anything for her to sign except our Illinois volleyball posters, but I think I speak for me and Fozz both when I say that we have little to no shame, and would not feel bad in the LEAST asking her to sign the back of our IVB posters. Unforch, we didn't have a pen, because some HOARDER hoarded her pen away from us, and as we were scrambling for a pen, a reporter from the Daily Illini came and interviewed us (resulting in the already linked fangirl article). UGH. We were SO CLOSE. I think someone (read: FOZZ) has an Amazon woman-crush on Blair Brown. Can't blame her though. She is very pretty. Okay, maybe I do too. Whatever.
After shouting a congratulations to Coach Hambly, we made our way out of the building. Fozz thought we should wander the building, just in case we bumped into some Penn State players (namely Blair Brown and/or Arielle Wilson), and I told her about how I've actually asked for UConn autographs outside the team bus before. Just as we were talking about that, we saw a huge bus parked outside of Huff. We weren't sure if that was Penn State, because we had seen a number of high school teams at the match who could have chartered a bus for the occasion, but then we spotted Blair Brown on the bus and knew it was her. We pondered how we could look cute and young enough to make our way onto the bus for her autograph (just her's and Arielle Wilson's probably, not anyone else's Suck it, the rest of you). While we thought about this and frantically tried to search for a pen again, some 11 year old girls got off the bus probably with their Blair Brown autographs and the bus took off. *LE SIGH*
We all headed our respective ways home, and I dropped Le Fozz off. We gushed about the evening some more, j'd our p's a bit, and then discussed legit plans for the next time and the next step in the Legit A Giant plan. The whole ride home I was on a high. I got home and immediately uploaded all my photos. I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep that night, even though my body was beat and I was just exhausted. I woke up the next morning with a lot of congestion, and then I realized that I had had an asthma attack from all the excitement and just hadn't realized it! Oh, heavens. My life is a mess. SOMD.
But man, what a game. Definitely an experience that will stay with me forever.
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