PROMOTIONS
Saturday, October 26 | 5 pm | Huff Hall
Pink Match - Put on your best PINK Illini gear and join us at Huff Hall for our annual Pink Match as we will raise awareness for breast cancer. A jersey silent auction will be held at the Networkers table at the October 9th and 12th matches. All proceeds will be donated to the Mills Breast Cancer Institute.
Giveaway - Pink sweatbands to the first 200 students
Pre-Match: Jersey Auction winners recognition - Illinois volleyball student athletes will be wearing the pink jersey with the name of the auction winner on the back
Between Second & Third Set: Honoring legendary head coach Mike Hebert with a moment of silence.
Post-match - Autographs & Networker cookie reception
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
After completing one of the toughest three-match road swings in the country, the No. 17 Illinois volleyball team returns to Huff Hall on Saturday (October 26) night, hosting Ohio State on Pink Night at 5 p.m. CT.
The Illini lead the series with the Buckeyes, 43-41 and have won four-straight - including the lone meeting of the season in a 3-1 victory in Columbus on November 2, 2018.
NCAA RPI RANKING
Illinois comes in at No. 32 in the latest NCAA RPI ranking after debuting in the first RPI of the season on October 14 ranked 22nd nationally and 24th in last week's rankings.
ILLINI CLOSING IN ON PROGRAM'S 1,000TH WIN
The Illinois volleyball program entered the 2019 season with an overall record of 989-558-7 (.639) in 45 seasons and with nine wins so far in the 2019 campaign, the Illini are just two wins from the historic 1,000th victory in program history with a 998-567-7 (.637) record.
ILLINI FALL JUST SHORT IN FIVE-SETTER WITH PENN STATE
The No. 17 Illinois volleyball team opened a two-set lead, before falling in a five-set thriller (25-18, 26-24, 15-25, 28-30, 13-15) against No. 8 Penn State on Wednesday (October 23) night in Rec Hall.
The Illini (9-9, 4-5 B1G) were led by senior Jacqueline Quade with her sixth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills and 15 digs, while junior Megan Cooney turned in 13 kills, redshirt-senior Beth Prince totaled 11 kills on a .364 hitting percentage and senior Ashlyn Fleming added 10 kills.
Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown registered her team-leading 12th double-double of the season with 48 assists and a team-high 16 digs, while guiding the Illini to a .211 team attack clip.
Reaching her first-career double-double was junior Morgan O'Brien, who posted 14 digs and a career-high 10 assists, with sophomore Taylor Kuper also contributed 10 digs in the match.
Fleming led UI at the net with five blocks, while freshman Kennedy Collins added four stuffs on the night.
LAST WEEK STANDOUTS
Illinois dropped a pair of hard-fought battles over the weekend, going five sets with No. 6 Wisconsin (12-25, 25-18, 25-23, 21-25, 4-15) on Friday night, before taking a 3-1 setback at No. 7 Minnesota (16-25, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25) on Saturday.
Junior Morgan O'Brien was a standout defensively and registered back-to-back 25-dig outings for a 5.56 digs per set average in matches against the Badgers and Gophers.
Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown passed out 98 assists for a 10.89 helpers and also added 27 digs for a 3.00 digs per set mark en route to registering back-to-back double-doubles.
Freshman Kennedy Collins had a impressive night at the net against the Gophers with a career-high 10 blocks.
Offensively, senior Jacqueline Quade (33 kills) and junior Megan Cooney (30 kills) once again paced the Illini.
ILLINI IN PROGRAM RECORD BOOK
With a .392 career hitting percentage in her two seasons as an Illini, senior Ashlyn Fleming ranks second all-time in progam history, sitting behind Illinois Hall of Famer Mary Eggers with a .421 attack clip. Fleming has registered 399 kills with 93 errors on 780 swings in 54 matches played.
Joining her in the record book is classmate Jacqueline Quade, who's 4,253 attacks rank sixth all-time in program history. Quade also sits ninth in kills (1,613) and points (1,810.5).
ILLINI RANKED NO. 17 IN AVCA POLL
The Illinois volleyball team remained in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll for the ninth-straight week, coming in at No. 17 for the third-straight week in this week's rankings. The Illini opened the season with a No. 6 preseason ranking, before moving up one spot for a season-high ranking of No. 5 the following week.
Illinois is one of six Big Ten schools ranked the AVCA Poll, including No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 8 Penn State and No. 20 Purdue, while Michigan is also receiving votes. Along with their conference foes, the Illini have faced two other opponents in the top-25, including No. 11 Marquette and No. 9 Washington.
HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS IN THIRD SEASON AT THE HELM OF ILLINI VOLLEYBALL
Chris Tamas is in his third season as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2019 after being named to the position in February 2017. Tamas (pronounced Thomas) is the eighth head coach in Illinois history.
In his first two seasons at the helm of the program, Tamas made an immediate impact on Illinois volleyball and currently owns an overall record of 64-24 (.727), including a 33-16 (.673) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference.
Illinois experienced one of its most successful seasons ever in 2018 under Tamas, who was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year. The Illini made the program's fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament – riding a 17-match win streak into the Final Four - and ended the season ranked No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Poll. The team registered a 32-4 overall record and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark, with the 32 victories ranking tied for fourth-most wins in school history.
ILLINI ADVANCE TO FOURTH-EVER NCAA FINAL FOUR IN HISTORIC 2018 SEASON
The Illini are coming off an historic 2018 season that saw the Orange & Blue make the program's fourth appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals after earning the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Illini ended the season with a 32-4 overall record – with the 32 wins ranking fourth-most in program history - and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark.
