East Peoria, Ill. - After yet another successful 2024 season that saw the Illinois Central College volleyball team earn their fifth consecutive berth in the NJCAA National Tournament, good for a 7th place finish, the Cougars are back—and hungrier than ever. With the mix of returning stars and promising new recruits, head coach Tracy Heffren enters her seventh season at the helm with sky-high expectations.
"We're not rebuilding—we're reloading," she said. "This group has the talent, the chemistry, and the mindset to take things even further."
Heffren's roster has a total of 14 players, with a perfect balance of seven sophomores and seven freshmen.
KEY RETURNEES LEAD THE CHARGE
Several sophomores will lead the way for Heffren's squad, led by middle hitter Bella Gregory (Metamora HS) who had 298 kills (2nd on team) led the squad with .386 hitting percentage a season ago. Outside hitter Andrea Rudolphi (Effingham St. Anthony HS) had 250 kills while right side Reagan Kelley (Dee-Mack HS) had 190 kills and a .203 hitting percentage. That trio, along with other classmates, should provide a formidable attack on the front line to help ease the loss of departed Nationals' All-Tourney selection Makenzie Pflederer.
Setter Allison de Freese led the squad with 33 aces in 2024, so will keep ICC on the attack from the service line.
"We have a good group of returners who've been working hard in the off season and know what it takes to accomplish our season goals to get back to the national tournament," Heffren said.
RECIPE FOR WINNING? RECRUIT WINNERS
The Cougars started practice in early August with two scrimmages to get a better look at newcomers and saw that all of the newcomers will have a chance to contribute.
Freshman setter Ellie Dallas (Mahomet-Seymour HS) led Mahomet-Seymour to the Class 3A State Championship and will help offset the loss of 3rd Team NJCAA All-American Shelby Emich while defensive specialist Sadie Siwicke (Dunlap HS) will be counted on to help fill the shoes of departed DS Madison Jones, who also was a 3rd Team NJCAA All-American.
Transfer Maggye Smith also comes in with a winning pedigree, having played on Kirkwood's 8th place team at Nationals as a freshman.
BEING BATTLE TESTED WON'T BE A PROBLEM
In her six years at the helm in East Peoria, Heffren has designed the season schedule with tough weekend tournaments and this year is no different. In fact, the schedule shows the team is slated for 13 matches against teams ranked in the NJCAA DII pre-season poll. Those teams include #2 Johnson County, #3 Heartland, #5 Parkland, #6 Gulf Coast State, #7 Kirkwood, #10 Pensacola State, #11 Sauk Valley (twice), #23 Milwuakee Area Tech, #24 Rock Valley (twice), and #25 Carl Sandburg (twice).
The season kicks off with a challenging tournament tomorrow (Aug. 22) at the Opening Weekend Tournament hosted by McHenry County College in Rockford, with a tough field that includes Monroe, North Iowa Area, Northeastern Oklahoma A & M, and Palm Beach State.
"We want to be challenged early," Heffren said. "Our schedule is built to prepare us for the kind of competition we'll face in the postseason."
The Cougars will travel to the Kirkwood Tourney (Cedar Rapids, IA) on September 5-6, the Madison College Invitational (Madison, WI) on September 12-13, the Heartland Invitational (Bloomington, IL) on October 10, the Pensacola Premier Invitational (Pensacola, FL) on October 16-17, and the Region 4/24 Crossover in (Champaign, IL) on October 24-25.
And that's just the non-region schedule. Big Region 24 match-ups will see ICC at Parkland on October 1 before hosting Heartland on October 4. Both match-ups are always high energy contests that rarely disappoint.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
With depth, experience, and a fierce competitive drive, this year's squad should again be in the mix for another District Title and National Tourney appearance.
