Emily Kabbes has the biggest challenge of the 14 players in camp with the Illinois State volleyball team this year. While her teammates battle each other for jobs every practice, the 6-foot-2 returning First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference middle has to challenge herself.
In practice, Kabbes is unstoppable at the net. Her coach, Sharon Dingman, acknowledges the problem.
We cant stop Emily, said Dingman, and we suspect our opponents might encounter some trouble in that regard as well.
Kabbes, a 2002 graduate of Central Catholic High School who grew up just minutes from the Illinois State campus, will join her teammates in a public scrimmage as part of Meet the Birds on Saturday at Redbird Arena. Starting at 2 p.m., fans can get a chance to serve an ace, record a kill and meet their favorite Redbird players and coaches. The scrimmage follows at 3:30 p.m.
Kabbes height, reach and ability to hit quick balls set by Redbird senior Kelly Rikli, are only the start of the problem of defending her. Dingman says she keeps adding to her game.
Emily has developed a lot of shots, said Dingman. She continues to build on her game, taking her work ethic to higher levels.
Rikli has a ready response to those who ask about Kabbes.
I am so glad she is on OUR side of the net, Rikli said, with emphasis. Weve played together enough that we have the timing down and were executing together. Emily does so much for this team.
Expanding her game has meant expanding her leadership, too.
Emily is a vocal leader for us, said Dingman. Her teammates respect her.
Kabbes is pleased with the early results of preseason camp.
Everyone is working very hard, said Kabbes. Our experienced players and new players are pushing hard to make the team better.
A year ago, Kabbes .327 hitting percentage was No. 5 in the Valley and No. 6 in Redbird history for a single season. With a career hitting percentage of .311, only former Valley Most Valuable Player Kendra Haselhorst has a higher career mark in Redbird history. With a team-leading 136 blocks, she became the first to score 500 points in a season for the Redbirds since the statistic became part of the all-rally scoring format in 2001. She also had a team-high 47 service aces with just 32 errors.
Emily will hit a high percentage, said Dingman. She has improved her serving, improved her blocking. The reason she improves so much is that she works so hard.
