Anna Dorn has one thing on her mind — her left knee. 

After tearing her ACL her freshman year, she continues to have troubles, and is still recovering from her second surgery this past December. Not knowing when she will return to the court, Dorn understands she needs to take on a new role until she is healthy once again.

“For me personally, it’s accepting the fact that I am going to have a new role on the team in terms of mentoring the younger players and contributing when I am healthy enough,” Dorn said.

While it has not yet been determined who will be taking her place at middle blocker, head coach Kevin Hambly has many options to choose from, including freshman Maddie Mayers, who has impressed the coaching staff in the beginning stages of practice.

Last year, a similar situation developed when freshman Alexis Villunas had to step in, making an immediate impact on the Illini’s push into the postseason. Though Hambly had been planning to sit Viliunas for the entire season and redshirt her to save a year of eligibility, the experience proved to be beneficial.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Villunas explained, “I feel a lot more comfortable on the court, I think the girls feels a lot more comfortable with me … and my sets because every setter sets differently.” 

Whoever replaces Dorn will be hoping to reap similar rewards.

During the offseason, the Illini were able to get a unique opportunity and travel to Italy where they faced premier competition and were exposed to a cultural experience like no other. Hambly emphasized the importance of teamwork, as there were many instances where the players were responsible for their own travel and coordinated their own plans throughout their trip. He said it helped the players learn to rely on each other and have better communication between them, which they could apply on the court. 

The level of competition the Illini faced is what really set the tone for the trip, teaching them valuable lessons Dorn and the team hope to translate into the upcoming season.

“The teams that we played over there were all diverse and so technically sound that it taught us a lot on how to prepare for different types of teams,” Dorn said. “Especially playing the Italian junior national and national team, I think we got a lot out of those matches.

“It gave us a confidence boost that we can hang with teams like that.”

For the second consecutive year, the Illini volleyball team received the AVCA Team Academic Award last season. This award recognizes high school and collegiate volleyball teams for their excellence in the classroom. Illinois was the only Big Ten program to qualify for the award, and 10 of the 12 sophomores through seniors received Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2012. Dorn was also awarded the first team Academic All-District honors.

The Illini return to play at Huff Hall on August 24 for the Alumni Match at 7 p.m. and begin the regular season against No. 20 Florida State on Aug. 30 in the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational.

Joey can be reached at [email protected] and @joeygelman.