Old teammates battling for Big Ten volleyball supremacy

They've gone from being teammates to opponents, but there's one thing that hasn't changed between former Chicago area volleyball stars Laura DeBruler and Arielle Wilson.

Now standouts at different colleges, the two will always be good friends, even on days like Friday when a Big Ten title is up for grabs.

DeBruler and her Illinois teammates traveled to Penn State to take on Wilson and the Lady Lions in a matchup of the Big Ten's two best teams. At 12-2 in the Big Ten and 20-3 overall, Illinois is chasing an undefeated Penn State team (26-0, 14-0 Big Ten) that is vying not only for its seventh straight Big Ten title but also its third consecutive NCAA national championship.

At the center of this pivotal matchup, which Penn State ultimately won, was DeBruler and Wilson, two of the best players in the Big Ten. DeBruler ranks second in the conference in kills (4.5 per game) while Wilson leads the league in hitting percentage (.565).

"I'm just trying to be a threat on the court," said Wilson, a 6-foot-3 middle hitter. "Laura's doing well, too. She was the go-to player on our club team and her game has just continued to elevate."

Both DeBruler and Wilson, who went to Downers Grove North and Proviso East, respectively, spent much of their time in high school playing club volleyball for 1st Alliance. In fact, they were teammates for four years while they traveled the country together playing in all kinds of elite tournaments. As seniors, they led their team to a fifth-place finish at nationals.

"It's kind of funny that we used to be on the same team and now we're going up against each other," said DeBruler, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter. "But at the end of the day, we'll always be friends. I'll always try to give her a little extra hand slap or something under the net (between games)."

Both DeBruler and Wilson have had plenty of hand-slapping moments with their own teams this season. Penn State has been ranked No. 1 in the country all season and Illinois has had a spot in the national rankings from the get-go, too. At No. 5 now, the Illini are at their peak.

"A lot of us played last year, so we've got a lot of experience, I guess," DeBruler said. "We lost only three seniors from last year and we were able to do a lot of training together last summer. Things have just come together."

The Lady Lions have seemingly been on the same page for years. Over the last decade, Penn State has made a strong case for being the most dominant Big Ten team of all time.

"We use the past as motivation for our team," Wilson said. "I think we work harder to keep the tradition up. I wouldn't say there's any pressure there. To me, it's fun to be part of a program like that."

DeBruler and Wilson could say the same about their experience with 1st Alliance, where it was more common to land a major Division I scholarship than not.

"I think we had five players who signed with Big Ten schools," DeBruler said. "Our team was awesome."

"We had a lot of studs on that team," Wilson echoed. "It was such a good experience and I really learned a lot. It was exciting knowing that we would all play each other in college."

DeBruler says that Wilson played a huge role in that part of the story line for her.

"I think the reason Illinois first became interested in me is that they were interested in Arielle and came out (to club practice) to look at her and they noticed me," DeBruler said. "So I should really thank Arielle for being on the team."

Surely a friendly hand slap under the net will do.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com