No. 8 Penn State, Rutgers
Match 24: No. 8 Penn State (19-4, 12-2 B1G)	Friday, November 15, 2019 | 7 p.m. CT | Huff Hall | Champaign, Ill.  Video: BTN Plus | Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats
Match 25: Rutgers (8-17, 2-12 B1G)	Saturday, November 16, 2019 | 7 p.m. CT | Huff Hall | Champaign, Ill. Video: BTN Plus | Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats
Full Match Notes	Illinois | Rutgers
2019 Statistics	Illinois | Penn State | Rutgers
Series History	Penn State: Illinois trails, 11-46 | Last: Illinois lost, 2-3, on 10/23/2019 | Streak: Lost 1 | Results Rutgers: Illinois leads, 10-1 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on 11/17/2018 | Streak: Won 10 | Results
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Social Media	@IlliniVball  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube

PROMOTIONS

Friday, November 15 vs. Penn State     

IIliNOISE Night | Help us bring the NOISE to Huff Hall. We need you to be LOUD! Guest appearance from the entire Marching Illini!

Pre-Match Shuttle | Friday night there will be a new Transport 280 Shuttle Route * ONLY PENN STATE MATCH *

• Shuttle will change its route to run from Bielfeldt to the Illini Inn 
• Shuttle will begin 2 hours prior to the match starting at 5 PM
• Fans can park at Bielfeldt and take the TranSPORT 280 from Bielfeldt to Illini Inn to Huff Hall and back to Bielfeldt
• Fans can get back on the shuttle from Illini Inn to be taken to the match
• Shuttle route is free
• Illini Inn is the pre-game and post-game spot of Illinois Volleyball. Fans can enjoy food and drink specials with their punch card that they can pick up at Huff Hall or the Illini Inn.

Saturday, November 16, vs. Rutgers

80s Night | Come join us at Huff Hall as we flash back to the 80s! Come dressed in your best 80's outfit and win a prize! 

Giveaway | Back to the Future sunglasses and shutter shades to the first 200 students

ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD 

The No. 25 Illinois volleyball team returns to Huff Hall for a pair of home matches this weekend, starting off with a Friday (November 15) night date with No. 8 Penn State, before taking on Rutgers on Saturday (November 16). First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT for both matches.

The Illini trail the all-time series with the Nittany Lions, 11-46 and are 8-19 all-time in Huff Hall. The Illini dropped a fifth-set heartbreaker in this season's earlier meeting with PSU, opening a two-set lead, before falling 3-2 (25-18, 26-24, 15-25, 28-30, 13-15) on October 23 in State College. 

Senior Jacqueline Quade turned in her sixth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills and 15 digs, while junior Morgan' O'Brien registered her first-career double-double with 14 digs and 10 assists.  

In the last meeting in Huff Hall with Penn State - last season on November 10, 2018 - the Illini earned their first win over PSU since 2014 with a five-set victory in front of a sold out crowd.

The Illini hold a 10-1 advantage in the all-time series with Rutgers, including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. UI swept the Scarlet Knights in both meetings a season ago. 

NCAA RPI RANKING

Illinois comes in at No. 43 in the latest NCAA RPI ranking after debuting in the first RPI of the season on October 14 ranked 22nd nationally. 

ILLINI BATTLE IN 3-1 SETBACK TO WOLVERINES

The No. 21 Illinois volleyball team battled, before falling, 3-1 (23-25, 15-25, 25-23, 18-25) to Michigan on Saturday (November 9) night in Cliff Keen Arena.

Senior Jacqueline Quade led the Illini offensively with 10 kills, with sophomore Mica Allison turning in nine kills and junior Megan Cooney and senior Ashlyn Fleming each posting eight kills on the night – with Fleming registering a .361 attack clip.

Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown totaled 26 assists on the night, while Fleming paced the squad with four blocks and four service aces.

Defensively, junior Morgan O'Brien notched her 17th-career 20-dig outing and sixth of the season with a match-high 21 digs.

ILLINI SWEEP HAWKEYES BEHIND COONEY'S STRONG PLAY

Illinois earned its second-straight sweep, taking a 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-15) victory over Iowa on Wednesday (November 6) night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Illini were paced by junior Megan Cooney with a match-high 17 kills on a season-high .667 hitting percentage after committing just one error in 24 swings.

Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown led the offense to a .323 team hitting percentage after passing out 40 assists to go along with a pair of blocks.

Defensively, junior Morgan O'Brien tallied a match-high 13 digs, with junior Taylor Kuper turning in 10 digs to go along with a career-high tying five aces.

LAST WEEK STANDOUTS

Junior Megan Cooney turned in a team-high 25 kills in seven sets for a 3.57 kills per set on a .385 hitting percentage, with senior Jacqueline Quade posting 20 kills for a 2.86 kills per set and sophomore Mica Allison adding 18 kills on a .359 attack clip. 

Defensively, junior Morgan O'Brien registered 34 digs for a 4.86 digs per set, while senior Ashlyn Fleming totaled a team-high six blocks. 

As a team, the Illini recorded 16 service aces, with sophomore Taylor Kuper leading the way with five aces and Fleming turning in four aces. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Senior Jacqueline Quade leads with 20 career double-doubles, including seven during the 2019 season. 

Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown paces the team with 12 double-doubles on the season, while junior Morgan O'Brien has one double-double on the season - the first of her career with 14 digs and 10 assists at Penn State on October 23. 

ILLINI IN PROGRAM RECORD BOOK

Senior Jacqueline Quade is quickly moving up the Illinois volleyball record books, ranking fifth all-time in program history with 1,674 kills and is just 33 kills from moving into a tie for fourth place with Mary Coleman Hambly with 1,707 kills. Quade also ranks fifth with 4,423 attacks and is seventh with 1,882.5 points in her four-year career. 

With a .384 career hitting percentage in her two seasons as an Illini, senior Ashlyn Fleming ranks third all-time in progam history, sitting behind Illinois Hall of Famer Mary Eggers (1985-88) with a .421 attack clip and Kristen Gleis (1992) with a .386 attack clip. Fleming has registered 438 kills with 108 errors on 859 swings in 59 matches played. 

Junior Morgan O'Brien also ranks sixth in program history with a 3.34 digs per set mark in her three seasons, while redshirt-freshman Diana Brown sits eighth with a 10.79 assists per set average in her first season on the court. 

ILLINI RANKED NO. 21 IN AVCA POLL

The Illinois volleyball team remained in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll for the 12th-straight week, coming in at No. 25 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 seven Big Ten schools ranked the AVCA Poll, including No. 5 Minnesota, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 8 Penn State, No. 16 Purdue and No. 23 Michigan. Along with their conference foes, the Illini have faced two other opponents in the top-25, including No. 9 Marquette and No. 13 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 67-26 (.720), including a 36-18 (.667) 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.