Viliunas assists Illini volleyball to Sweet 16
It's all about volleyball these days for Illinois junior setter Alexis Viliunas.
But every time the Illini make a big play, Viliunas can't contain herself, and her inner cheerleader comes out.
"I don't think a lot of people know this, not even my teammates, but I won a national championship in cheerleading," said the 6-foot-1 Viliunas, a native of La Grange and a former standout at Lyons Township High School. "I was a cheerleader from when I was really young, until junior high. Our team went to Disney World when I was in seventh grade and we won the national championship. It was so awesome.
"I'm just a really happy person and I can get pretty excited on the court. Some of the things I do would be something a cheerleader would do: leg kicks, cheering, jumping up and down. I'm a little crazy with it."
Illinois has certainly given Viliunas, a starter in every match over the last two years, and its fans plenty to cheer about this season.
The No. 10 Illini (26-7) hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament this weekend at iconic Huff Hall, one of the loudest and most energetic arenas in college volleyball. After wins against Murray State (25-20, 25-9, 25-17) on Friday and Iowa State on Saturday (27-25, 25-18, 25-18), the Illini are headed to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six seasons. It's the 22nd NCAA tournament berth for the Illini, one of six Big Ten teams that made the 64-team field.
While Michigan State failed to advance to regional play, Nebraska, Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin advanced this weekend.
Illinois, a No. 9-seed that posted wins over national heavyweights North Carolina, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska and Purdue this season, moves on to the Ames Regional on Friday to take on No. 8-seed Florida, which beat Miami.
"We just have a lot of talent and experience on this team," Viliunas said. "We've got a scrappy defense and a lot of big bangers who are doing a great job at the net. Our hitters have been so good this year."
Illinois features three players with more than 250 kills during the regular season, Jocelynn Birks (468), Liz McMahon (367) and Morganne Criswell (263). Birks was a unanimous all-Big Ten selection for the second year in a row while McMahon was named honorable mention.
"I try to put up a good ball so my hitters can score," said Viliunas, who averages 8.16 assists per set and has been taking private setting lessons since she was 10 years old. "I take a lot of pride in that, and I get really excited. That makes me smile.
"I'm always smiling on the court."
Viliunas, who had 41 assists, 8 digs and 5 kills against Iowa State, says most of her teammates are pretty toothy, too. And there may be a correlation between smiles and wins.
"We're just a team that's always smiling, having a good time," Viliunas said. "Some people might think it's weird how much our team smiles, but I think it keeps us loose and it's why we're so successful."
The Illini are hoping to make up for last year's Sweet 16 loss to Big Ten rival Purdue, a team that they had swept during the regular season.
"That was a tough loss that year and everyone has been so motivated by that this season. No one liked that feeling last year," Viliunas said. "We know we're a top team this year and we want to show the rest of the world."
Leave it to the former cheerleader to yell it from the rooftops.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com
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