From our BEST Culture of the decade feature:
In this community we focus a lot on men’s sports, particularly Illini basketball and football. This is not unique to C-U by any means, it’s generally the case in most college towns. Those two programs have not offered us much to get excited about in the last decade, but that doesn’t mean that these past 10 years have nothing to speak about in terms of college sports. While there are many that warrant recognition, Illini women’s volleyball has been a definite standout, with seven NCAA appearances, each of those times advancing to at least the Sweet Sixteen, and they were national runner-up in 2011 and made the Final Four in 2018. However, do not forget that there is another college here in town — Parkland College — and their women’s volleyball team has been KILLING it for a majority of the decade. They reached the NJCAA Division II National Title match six times over the course of the decade, winning the title twice in that time.
Also, volleyball is SUPER fun to watch. It’s fast-paced and exciting to watch these stellar athletes throw themselves all over that court. (Julie McClure)
Photo by Scott Wells