From 1970s players like Susan Ott (Arbuckle) and 1980s All-American Julie Mueller (Paska) to more recent standouts like Jan Madlock, the 2004 Redbird Volleyball Alumni Reunion will include an all-star cast.
The Sept. 25 reunion features a 1:30 p.m. alumnae match in Redbird Arena and other special events for the volleyball alumni and their families. The group will be welcomed by coach Sharon Dingman, her student-athletes and staff and plenty of tradition-minded Redbird fans will be on hand to shout Point, Illinois State for their favorites from the past. Returning players also will be honored during the 7 p.m. Missouri Valley Conference match against Northern Iowa in Redbird Arena.
Dingman is excited by the opportunity to touch the history of Redbird volleyballsuccessful enough to be one of only 10 Division I teams to record 800 all-time victories.
Its so wonderful that so many of them are coming back, said Dingman, in her fifth season as Redbird head coach. It will be like touching the history of Illinois State volleyball. Everything our players have nowthe crowds, the arena, the commitment--are because of these alums. I cant wait for our players to get to interact with them.
Ott was around during the days of Linda Hermans coaching and Illinois States national success in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Ott, now the volleyball coach at Calvary Baptist Academy in Normal, remembers her early experience at ISU.
I was one of tallest people in my high school, but one of the shorter people on the team at Illinois State, said Ott. I loved to play then and Im still playing now 20 years at State Farm, including 13 years with a traveling team.
Mueller has remained at Illinois State since graduation as an assistant coach and, more recently, an academic advisor. She is looking forward to reconnecting with former Redbirds.
For me, and for our class, its been about 20 years since we finished, said Mueller. This will be a great event and good things are happening. Our volleyball program is on the upswing and I think the alums will enjoy watching them play.
Madlock was a team leader who bridged winning groups from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, then spent two seasons as a Redbird assistant coach. During her time at ISU, Madlock coached the junior high volleyball team at Epiphany Catholic School, where one of her players was future Redbird Jenny Kabbes, now an ISU assistant coach.
She remembers a Redbird volleyball reunion in 1988, her first year at ISU.
I remember how excited I was as a young player and how much it meant to me when we had a similar event with our alumni, said Madlock, who lives in Kansas. I havent been back (to Illinois State) for a while, so Im looking forward to seeing players I know and meeting the players there now.
For more information about participating in the Redbird Volleyball Reunion, call the ISU volleyball office at (309) 438-2567.
Redbird Volleyball Reunion Roster
No. Name (current last name) Years
5 Jill Cole (Miller) 1992-95
12 Kim Edwards (Hanks) 1977-80
31 Nan Gratkins 1973-76
-- Patricia Guinee 1975-78
7
Cindy Harris 1980-84
5 Kendra Haselhorst (Bull) 1997-00
10 Erin Jones 1999-02
8 Karen Hopkins (Miranda) 1989-92
15 Jenny Kabbes 1998-02
6 Kristin Kueltzo (Zvonar) 1993-96
6 Jan Madlock 1988-92
14 Nikki McCleary Gallier 1997-98
22 Lacy McFarland 2001-02
3 Carla McQueen (Wenzel) 1990-93
8 Julie Mueller (Paska) 1981-85
12 Jeanette Newberry (Clayton) 1989-93
9 Angie Noble 1987-91
11 Susan Ott (Arbuckle) 1979-80
8 Chris Rehor (Federico) 1985-88
7 Krista Ridder 1994-97
7 Lisa Rolf (Halvorsen) 1988-91
11 Victoria Roppolo (Lundy) 1972-73
2 Juli Schmidt (Ott) 1991-94
3 Megan Stephenson 1998-01
2 Tracy Stroyan (Maynard) 1982-85
6 Becky Weber 1998-01
3 Tracy Young (Heffren) 1988-89
4 Keely Zimmerman (Nieukirk) 1992-93
Coach Nancy Chapman 1969-73
Coach Linda Herman 1975-81
