It’s a particularly exciting time to be an Illini fan. But we’re not talking about the new football coach or the undefeated men’s basketball team.
We wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate the Illini women’s volleyball on advancing to the Final Four this Thursday in San Antonio. You can watch the Illini take on USC at 8 p.m. Thursday – tune into ESPN2 or online at ESPN3.com. Locally, you can listen to it on WDWS (AM 1400) radio with Dave Loane and Mike Trame on the call. It’s too bad that the Illini drew the late match (the first semifinal starts at 6 p.m.) — my kids will be furious that they can’t watch the whole thing!
We watched the exciting match on Saturday as the Illini topped host Florida to punch their ticket to Texas. The kids were so pumped about it that we went to Huff Hall to help welcome the team home on Sunday (see pics).
This is the third time the Illini have advanced to the national semifinals, but the first time in 23 years. Florida St. (28-6) takes on UCLA (28-6) in the other semifinal. The winners advance to the national championship game, to be played at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Want to send your best wishes the Illini? Leave a comment below for Coach Kevin Hambly (wife Mary is a former Chambana mom to know) and the team below, and we’ll make sure to share it as soon as possible.