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Illinois State University Athletics

2022 Volleyball Roster

Dennis Banks
Lauri Riddell/ISU Athletics
Dennis Banks

14 Sarah Kushner

  • Position OH
  • Height 5-10
  • Class Senior
  • Highschool Naperville North HS
  • Hometown Naperville, Ill.

Biography

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2021 All-MVC First Team
2021 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
2021 Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team
2020-21 All-MVC Second Team
2019 MVC All-Tournament Team
2019 Buckeye Invitational All-Tournament Team
3/30/21 - MVC Player of the Week
2/16/21 - MVC Player of the Week

2022 (Senior Year): Appeared in 24 matches, covering 87 sets ... missed five matches due to injury and limited in the final seven matches ... second on the team with 191 kills, posting a season-high 19 with a .462 hitting percentage against Queens on 9/9/22 ... tallied 21 service aces, including four against Dayton on 8/27/22 ... became the seventh player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills (9/2/22 vs Green Bay) and 1,000 career digs (9/24/22 at Indiana State) ... third on the team with 208 digs ... tallied six double-doubles ... named to the Beale Street Challenge All-Tournament Team and Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team ... named CSC Academic All-District ... named MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team.

2021 (Junior Year): Appeared in all 33 matches, covering all 126 sets the Redbirds played in the 2021 season … earned a spot on the All-MVC First Team for the first time in her career … a 2021 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection … named a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team … selected to the Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team after posting 38 kills and 31 digs over three matches for ISU … finished the year with a conference-leading 19 double-doubles … recorded 366 kills this season for the second most on the team … posted 22 double-digit kill efforts in ISU’s 33 matches, including a month-long 10-game stretch with 10+ kills from Sept. 18 to Oct. 18 … set a five-set career best for kills with 19 on two separate occasions this season, first at Wright State (9/11) and then against Missouri State (10/1) … finished the year with 359 digs for the second most on the team and the 15th most ever by an ISU junior … matched her career best of 20 digs against Valparaiso (10/16) … led ISU with 22 block solos, which is the 10th most ever by a Redbird junior … totaled 68 blocks on the year, registering a career-best six blocks at Bradley (10/18) … led Illinois State with 29 service aces, notching a season high of three on three separate occasions … reached 1,000 career points at Valparaiso (11/12) … one of four Redbirds to post 15+ kills in the MVC Championship match against Loyola Chicago (11/27) … appeared in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 6 Purdue (12/2).

2020 (Sophomore Year): Played in all 22 matches for the Redbirds, covering 80 sets, as a six-rotation player … landed a spot on the All-MVC Second Team … two-time MVC Player of the Week … earned a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention squad … led the Valley and the team in service aces per set (0.43), delivering at least one ace in all but five matches … finished the year with a team-high 34 aces, dropping a season-high five against Indiana State (4/1) in the opening round of the Valley tournament … turned in 249 kills to average 3.11 kills per set … posted 10 double-doubles, including a 14 kill-20 dig performance against Bradley (4/2) … set career-highs in kills, digs, assists and blocks her sophomore season … dished out 20 assists on the year with a season-high four against Evansville (3/21) … scooped 235 digs with a pair of 20-dig performances in wins over No. 20 Marquette (1/23) and Bradley (4/2) … turned in 40 blocks with a pair of career-high four stuffs against Drake (2/15) and Missouri State (3/15) … Fall 2020 season moved to spring 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 (Freshman Year): Appeared in all 34 matches, covering 132 sets as a true freshman … Named to the MVC All-Tournament Team … finished third on the team with 251 kills, averaging 1.90 kills per set … tallied the third-most digs (356) and fifth most by a freshman, while leading the team in service aces with 37 – the third most by a freshman in program history … registered 11 double-digit kill performances, turning in a season-high 16 kills in the season opener at North Texas (8/30) … collected a season-high 16 digs on three occasions … tallied a season-high four assists twice, while adding three blocks on four occasions … delivered multiple services aces in eight matches, including a season-high four in a win over Drake (11/9).

Naperville North HS: Four-year starter for Naperville North High School's volleyball program, helping her team boast a winning record in all four of her seasons, including back-to-back 30-win seasons in 2017 and 2018 … Three-time regional champion, while being named MVP her junior and senior seasons … Four-time all-conference performer, and three-time all-area honoree … Named the DVC Player of the Year in 2018 … Won an AAU National Championship, while earning All-America status.

Personal: Daughter of Dave and Colleen Kushner … Born March 19 in Naperville, Illinois … Has one brother (David) and two sisters (Ashley and Sydney) … Has several relatives that played sports in college including her father, who played basketball at George Williams College … Will be the sixth member of her family to play volleyball at the Division I collegiate level.

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 14

    2019Freshman

    OH
    5'10"
    14
  • 14

    2020Sophomore

    OH
    5'10"
    14
  • 14

    2021Junior

    OH
    5'10"
    14
  • 14

    2022Senior

    OH
    5'10"
    14