by Kristen Leigh Porter
Senior writer

There is no break for Illinois’ volleyball team -- the players won’t even be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at home this year, thanks to Wednesday night’s home match against Purdue.

The squad will practice Thursday morning and eat their turkey at head coach Don Hardin’s house before flying to Minnesota, Friday’s opponent.

Purdue is a dangerous team that has been performing well offensively the past couple weeks. Hardin said the 13-14, 7-11 Boilermakers would love nothing more than to spoil the Illini’s season.

"They hate Illinois; they love to beat Illinois especially in volleyball," Hardin said. "The rivalry goes way back and they’re very upset about us beating them at their place and they want to return the favor."

Tourney Talk

This Sunday, the Illini will find out what their NCAA Tournament destiny holds. Hardin’s team appears a lock for its first appearance since 1995, but the parity in the rest of the conference might keep some teams at home. Even Hardin, whose team has played the toughest schedule in the nation this year, wouldn’t hazard a guess.

"Boy, that’s going to be a tough call this year because we have a lot of new variables," Hardin said of the addition of 64 teams in the tournament.

Last year, the committee also set down a winning conference record as one of the criteria to look at teams, although not exclusive. When the Big Ten started the conference portion of the schedule, seven teams were ranked and the conference as a whole sported almost a .900 winning percentage in non-conference matches.

"Then we entered the conference and just pounded on each other," Hardin said. "Obviously with 11 teams and a 20 match schedule, we’re not going to have an abundance of teams with winning records."

To complicate matters, the teams at the bottom of the conference are very good teams and capable of beating anyone, Hardin said. As a result, the conference can have no more than four teams with winning records, and one team can come out with a .500 record. Indiana would have to win at least one match this weekend against Ohio State or Penn State to break even.

Set for Success

Junior setter Melissa Beitz was voted an Academic All-District V pick. The kinesiology major has a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.64 and earned a perfect 4.0 last spring. Ironically, the last volleyball player to win the award was 1990 honoree Laura Bush, who was also a graduate of Stewardson-Strasburg High School.

"It’s an award that we haven’t had someone win for many years, and I’m real proud that Melissa’s reestablishing the commitment we’re looking for from everyone and our underclassmen," Hardin said.

Beitz is one of six first-team members from the region, which includes all Division-I schools in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin. According to Hardin, the criteria for the award is not just academic achievement, but also excellence on the court. Beitz currently leads the nation in assists and stands third on the all-time career assist list at Illinois.

The recognition also puts Beitz in the running for Academic All-American honors this year.

"It’s always great when you have one of those people on your team, especially when it’s a captain and especially if it’s in your setter position," Hardin said.