Random thoughts at the end of the Illini volleyball team's season:

Who would have suspected that of the two Big Ten teams in the Stanford Regional, Michigan - and not Illinois - would be the one playing for the regional title and a spot in the Final Four? But that's how it's developed after the 16th-ranked and 13th-seeded Wolverines stunned fourth-ranked and fourth-seeded Stanford late Friday night on the Cardinals' home court.
Illinois went 2-0 in the regular season against Michigan, yet the nine-loss Wolverines have gone at least one step further in the tournament than the Illini.
We'll have to see how Michigan fares Saturday night against Hawaii, but Friday's outcomes strongly suggest that Illinois drew the more difficult assignment in the regional than the Wolverines. Despite the puzzling 12th seed that Hawaii received from the NCAA tournament selection committee, the Rainbow Wahine were highly regarded in the rest of the volleyball world, as reflected by their No. 3 ranking in the AVCA Top 25 poll. And they've been unstoppable for weeks, running their winning streak to 27 with Friday's four-set victory against No. 8 and fifth-seeded Illinois.
Which opponent you draw in the tournament looms large in how far you're likely to advance. Hawaii's seeding aside, the Illini drew a far tougher opponent for this stage of the tournament (Sweet 16) than their fifth seeding seemingly deserved.
If Hawaii beats Michigan and ends up in the Final Four, how bad does the tournament committee look for undervaluing the Rainbow Wahine when it seeded the field?

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Barring a significant injury next season, look for Laura DeBruler to shatter the Illini record for career kills. The outside hitter ended her junior season with 1,668, No. 4 on the UI charts and one kill behind No. 3 Nancy Brookhart. More to the point, she's merely 93 behind all-time leader Mary Eggers. And DeBruler never has had fewer than 504 kills in any of her first three seasons at Illinois.

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Although the Illini lose only two seniors, next year's roster - and perhaps it's rotation - will look mighty different.
Besides the three freshmen signees, Illinois also gains the services of setter Annie Luhrsen, a sophomore transfer from Connecticut, and outside hitter Jessica Jendryk, who redshirted in 2009 as a freshman due to a knee injury. Add in incoming freshmen Jennifer Bonilla (libero), Anna Dorn (middle blocker) and Jazmine Orozco (outside hitter), and Hambly will have plenty more options than he did this season in putting together a rotation.
Even if none of the five crack the lineup - and that's unlikely with libero up for grabs and Hambly's effusive praise of Dorn's talents on signing day - the competition for playing time should be the highest it's been in years. In some instances, Illini practices might be tougher than its matches.