NORMAL, Ill. - Former Illinois State volleyball player Julie Mueller Paska will be honored by the Illinois State Athletics Department at the Redbird volleyball match against Southern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 16. A banner honoring Paska's success and contributions of service to Illinois State willbe unveiled prior to the match and a video commemorating her career will be shown during halftime.
"We are thrilled to recognize and honor one of our athletic greats Julie Mueller Paska," Director of Athletics Gary Friedman said. "Her excellence on the court as a student-athlete is well documented, and she has continued to have an incredible impact on Redbird Athletics since her playing days. We are honored to have the Mueller Paska name hanging from the rafters of Redbird Arena."
Mueller Paska was a four-year letterwinner from 1981-85 and earned second-team All-America honors as a senior in 1984. She was an All-Gateway selection from 1982-84 and led the Redbirds to conference titles and NCAA tournament berths all three seasons. As a member of the team, Paska aided those three teams in compiling a 94-40 record and won 17 of 18 Gateway Conference matches.
She continued to excel on the court and was a member of the 1985 World University Games team, was selected to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Team, was named to the Gateway Conference's 10th anniversary team and competed in professional indoor volleyball as a member of the Chicago Breeze in the Major League.
Mueller Paska was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 1992 and was the first MVC player to be recognized as an All-America selection. Mueller Paska finished her Redbird playing career with 379 blocks and was the first Illinois State player with at least 200 blocks and aces. She ranks second in all-time carrer kills per set with 4.89 and third in attack percentage, compiling a .304 during her time at ISU.
After her playing career as a Redbird, she served as an assistant coach for Illinois State for three seasons, and also coached at Northern Illinois and Illinois Wesleyan. She has coached youth volleyball at camps and the club and high school levels for the past 25 years. Still a vital part of the athletics department, Mueller Paska serves as an Illinois State Athletics Academic Advisor and has the opportunity to mentor ISU student-athletes on a daily basis.
Mueller Paska's husband, Steve, was a two-time letterwinner as a Redbird swimmer and is currently the ISU head women's swim coach. They have three children, Matthew (23), Dusty (21) and Jill (15). Matthew graduated from Illinois State in 2012, Dusty is a senior at Illinois and Jill is a sophomore at Normal West and plays on the varsity volleyball team.
Mueller Paska's banner will be the 11th to hang from the rafters alongside other Illinois State greats such as; women's basketball representatives Cathy Boswell, Charlotte Lewis, Kristi Cirone, and Jill Hutchison, former men's basketball players Doug Collins, Bubbles Hawkins and Jeff Wilkins, former head coach Will Robinson and former administrators Milt Weisbecker and Laurie Mabry.
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