Celebrating her birthday on Sunday is former Illinois volleyball superstar Colleen Ward Barone. An All-American in each of her two seasons — first-team in 2011 and second-team in 2010 — her efforts helped lead Illinois to the national championship match during her senior campaign.

Her name is sprinkled throughout Illini volleyball’s record book and tops the list for single-match aces (nine vs. BYU in 2010). Now married, she is a vice president at Northern Trust in Miami.

The product of Naperville North High School and transfer from the University of Florida recalled several moments during her career and remembered many of the athletes with whom she played:

On Illinois ending Penn State’s 65-match Big Ten winning streak in 2010: “We didn’t let that intimidate us. It really fed into our competitive nature.”

On UI’s three-hour, five-set victory at PSU in 2011: “We started our season off really strong (16th consecutive win in a 20-0 start). We were ranked No. 1, but it didn’t feel like we were No. 1 at that point because we knew we had the potential to be so much better. We knew that we had to keep improving.”

On facing her former teammates, the Florida Gators, in the 2011 NCAA regional finals in Gainesville: “Knowing that I wanted to transfer to Illinois, I had the same exact feeling when we were watching the (NCAA tournament) selection show. I just knew that we were going to end up playing Florida. Once it all came to reality, it was pretty cool to see. I really don’t remember the games very well, other than just the feeling of playing. I pretty much just went into my own little world and focused on playing the games, point to point.”

On Illinois’ legendary match against Southern California in the 2011 NCAA semifinals: “The coaches did a great job of preparing us for the Final Four. An early loss in one of the games wasn’t going to scare us. USC came out to play, and we were the same way. Every point really mattered. The final point is something we’ll all remember forever. Very long. Very competitive. A lot of amazing saves on both sides. That spirit reflected our team a lot from that season.”

On UI’s loss in the championship match against UCLA: “Honestly, I can say going into the final that we did get a little overwhelmed. We just got a little bit out of our game and made more mistakes than we normally would, and we weren’t as aggressive as we should have been.”

Does that loss to UCLA still linger in her mind? “Oh, my God, all the time. As an athlete and as a competitive person, I wish we could play that again.”

On coach Kevin Hambly: “He was perfect for our team, such a personable coach. Once every other week each player would have a meeting with him on their own. He’d ask how our classes were going, how our life was going, or if there was anything we wanted to talk about. We felt like more of a family than just a team. All of our coaches and staff were a really unique group of people.”

On teammate Johannah Bangert: “Jo was my host when I first visited Illinois. She was an amazing blocker and held that record at Illinois.”

On teammate Michelle Bartsch: “I have too many words for Michelle. We’re still really close friends. I know that she will be in the Olympics, so I just can’t wait to watch her.”

On teammate Hillary Haen: “She was one of the smartest setters that I have ever played with. She was just a different mind on the court, always thinking over things. She always knew all of the statistics going into the game.”

On teammate Jennifer Beltran: “Because I was one of the passers, I was always close to Jen and Michelle in that way. We kind of formed our own little team within the team. She was one of the best liberos and one of the most athletic girls I ever played with.”

On teammate Annie Luhrsen: “I knew her in high school because we played against each other. My senior year was my favorite season and Annie was a huge part of that.”

On teammate Anna Dorn: “She was younger than me, so I kind of took her under my wing. She was very athletic. I really trusted her to get up there for a block and to be aggressive. She grew a lot as a player.”

On her most underrated teammate: “I could mention a lot of names, but maybe the most underrated was Rachel Feldman. She was one of those teammates that didn’t get a lot of credit, but she was generally such an amazing person who got us out of a lot of holes.”

Illini Birthdays:

Sunday: Beth Prince, volleyball (24)

Monday: Pramod Dibir, tennis (36)

Tuesday: Sherri Taylor, softball

Wednesday: Ryan Nelligan, baseball (52)

Thursday: Doug Laz, track & field (66)

Friday: Del’Shawn Phillips, football (24)

Saturday: Jon Davis, track & field (23)

By Mike Pearson, author of Illini Legends, Lists & Lore (Third Edition now available in stores). Get more Illini birthdays, trivia and historical tidbits daily on Twitter @IlliniLegends and @B1GLLL. His website is www.SportsLLL.com.