CHAMPAIGN — Emily Hollowell started playing volleyball in seventh grade. It was a somewhat late start considering 10U or 11U teams are the new normal.
Now in her fourth year playing, Hollowell has already played on a 2013 National Open Division Championship club team playing for Skyline Juniors Volleyball Club out of Dallas, grown five inches to reach her current — but maybe not yet final — height of 6-foot-3 and received scholarship offers from nearly a dozen Division I programs.
Monday afternoon Hollowell took another step in her rapidly-developing volleyball career by committing to Illinois and coach Kevin Hambly — choosing the Illini over Nebraska, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and her other offers.