at Maryland, at Ohio State
Match 26: Maryland (13-15, 5-11 B1G)	Friday, November 22, 2019 | 7 p.m. CT | XFINITY Center | College Park, Md. Video: BTN Plus | Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats | CLEAR BAG POLICY
Match 27: Ohio State (14-14, 7-9 B1G)	Sunday, November 24, 2019 | 12 p.m. CT | Covelli Center | Columbus, Ohio Video: BTN Plus | Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats
Full Match Notes	Illinois | Ohio State
2019 Statistics	Illinois | Maryland | Ohio State
Series History	Maryland: Illinois leads, 8-0 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on 11/4/2018 | Streak: Won 8 | Results Ohio State: Illinois leads, 44-41 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on 10/26/2019 | Streak: Won 5 | Results
Tickets	Maryland | Ohio State
Social Media	@IlliniVball  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube

ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD 

The No. 25 Illinois volleyball team next heads on the road for a two-match swing, starting with a Friday (November 22) night meeting with Maryland at 7 p.m. CT in College Park, Md., before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Sunday (November 24) at 12 p.m. CT.

The Illini own a 8-0 record in the all-time series against UMD, including a 3-0 mark in College Park. UI swept both meetings with the Terrapins a season ago. 

The Illini lead the series with the Buckeyes, 44-41, but are trailing 17-19 in Columbus. Illinois has won five-straight - including a 3-0 sweep earlier this season on October 26. IU was paced offensively by a pair of seniors in that meeting as Jacqueline Quade turned in a match-high 13 kills on a .324 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs, while redshirt-senior Beth Prince registered her second-straight double-digit outing with 11 kills. Junior Morgan O'Brien led with 14 digs, with sophomore Taylor Kuper adding 13 digs.

O'BRIEN NAMED B1G DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior libero Morgan O'Brien was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after leading the No. 25 Illinois volleyball team in two matches over the weekend – including a Saturday sweep of Rutgers, the conference announced on Monday (November 18).

This marks the third weekly conference honor the Illini have received this season and O'Brien's second career weekly honor after earning her first career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week as a sophomore.

The Libertyville, Illinois native registered 41 digs on the weekend for an impressive 6.83 digs per set, while adding four assists and 1.000 reception percentage on 22 opportunities. 

ILLINI EARNS SATURDAY SWEEP OF RUTGERS

Behind a strong offensive showing from senior Jacqueline Quade and junior Megan Cooney, the No. 25 Illinois volleyball team earned a Saturday (November 16) night sweep of Rutgers on 80s Night in Huff Hall.

Quade and Cooney both turned in a match-high 14 kills, with the senior posting a season-best .400 hitting percentage and the junior registering a .333 attack clip. Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown handed out 38 assists en route to guiding the Illini to a .308 team hitting percentage.

As a team, the Illini served up nine aces in the win, with Fleming leading the way with four, Quade tallying three and sophomore Taylor Kuper contributing two.

Defensively, the Illini held the Scarlet Knights to a .174 attack clip behind 7.5 blocks, highlighted by four stuffs from Fleming and three from Cooney, while junior Morgan O'Brien had another strong outing with a match-high 17 digs in the win.

1,000 KILL CLUB

With her sixth kill on Saturday night against Rutgers, senior Ashlyn Fleming reached 1,000 kills in her four-year career. After starting her collegiate career and totaling 554 kills at the University of the Pacific, Fleming transferred to Illinois prior to her junior season and has accumulated 446 kills while in the Orange and Blue.

LAST WEEK STANDOUTS

Senior Jacqueline Quade totaled 25 kills on the weekend for a 4.17 kills per set average on a .302 hitting percentage, while also leading the team with five service aces and posting the second-most digs with 16 for a 2.67 digs per set mark. The senior also recorded a perfect 1.000 reception percentage on on a team-high 57 opportunities.

Junior Morgan O'Brien registered 41 digs on the weekend for an impressive 6.83 digs per set, while adding four assists and 1.000 reception percentage on 22 opportunities.

As a team, the Illini recorded 12 service aces, with senior Ashlyn Fleming joining Quade with a team-high five aces, while also posting a team-best four blocks in the two matches.

NCAA RPI RANKING

Illinois comes in at No. 45 in the latest NCAA RPI ranking after debuting in the first RPI of the season on October 14 ranked 22nd nationally. 

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 1,699 kills and is just eight kills from moving into a tie for fourth place with Mary Coleman Hambly with 1,707 kills. Quade also ranks fourth with 4,486 attacks and is seventh with 1,913.5 points in her four-year career. 

With a .379 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 446 kills with 112 errors on 881 swings in 61 matches played. 

Junior Morgan O'Brien recently moved into the top-10 in digs and is ninth with 1,129 digs in her three seasons. She also ranks sixth in program histroy with a 3.40 digs per set mark. 

Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown sits eighth with a 10.83 assists per set average in her first season on the court. 

ILLINI RANKED NO. 25 IN AVCA POLL

The Illinois volleyball team remained in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll for the 13th-straight week, coming in at No. 25 for the second-straight week in the most recent 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 Wisconsin, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 8 Penn State, No. 17 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. 10 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.