Illini volleyball: By the numbers

Champaign-- Up in the stands of Huff Hall, two Illini volunteers help make the calls. It's all in the name of keeping statistics for the Illinois volleyball team.

Clark Sorensen and Pat Sullivan run the stat computers for the team. They have a system in place that requires focus and rhythm.

Point after point, Sorensen calls out the action.

Dig

Set

Attack

Sullivan puts in the plays on a laptop in the press box.

Illini volleyball coach Kevin Hambly gets the numbers on a screen next to the Illinois bench. From there, he is able to see his team's hitting percentage and errors, allowing him to make quicker decisions.

Both statisticans have local roots. Sorensen has been coming to Huff Hall for more than ten years and considers himself a big volleyball fan. He said he only missed Illini games on Fridays in high school, when he would manage the Mahomet-Seymour football team. Sullivan, meanwhile, played on the men's club team at the University of Illinois. He sees his current job as a way to stay with the sport he loves.