| B1G/Pac-12 Challenge |
Match 3:
vs. No. 16 Washington (2-1) |
Friday, September 6, 2019 | 4 p.m. CT | Carver-Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City, Iowa
Radio: WDWS 1400 | Livestats |
Match 4:
vs. Colorado (3-0) |
Saturday, September 7, 2019 | 4 p.m. CT | Carver-Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City, Iowa
Audio: FightingIllini.com (ONLINE ONLY) | Livestats |
| Full Match Notes |
Illinois | Washington |
| 2019 Statistics |
Illinois | Washington | Colorado |
| Series History |
Washington: Illinois leads, 3-1 | Last: Illinois won, 3-1, on 9/1/1018 | Streak: Won 2 | Results
Colorado: Illinois leads, 5-4 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on 8/31/2018 | Streak: Won 1 | Results |
| Social Media |
@IlliniVball  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube 
|
B1G/PAC-12 CHALLENGE
The Illinois volleyball team will participate in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge for the sixth-straight season this weekend, traveling to Iowa City, Iowa, to face No. 16 Washington and Colorado on September 6-7.
Illinois owns a 3-7 all-time record in the Challenge and swept both matches in the annual event last season in Seattle.
The Illini opened the 2018 challenge with a straight-sets win over then-No. 21 Colorado, before defeating host and then-No. 13 ranked Washington, 3-1, in the weekend's second match.
Then-junior Jacqueline Quade was named the Tournament MVP after totaling 31 kills for a 4.43 kills per set average on a .333 attack percentage, while also notching eight digs, seven blocks and two service aces.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illini will be facing a pair of familiar opponents this weekend in Colorado - who makes its sixth-straight appearance on the UI schedule - and Washington, who the Illini have earned wins over the last two seasons. The Huskies also have a familiar face on the coaching staff with former Illini assistant Jason Mansfield, who coached in Champaign during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The Illini are leading in both series with the Bluffs, 5-4 and the Huskies, 3-1.
ILLINI SWEEP TENNESSEE TO OPEN 2019 SEASON
The Illinois volleyball team opened the 2019 season in exciting fashion as the Illini earned back-to-back five-set victories over then-No. 19 Tennessee in a home-and-home series over the weekend.
Senior Jacqueline Quade registered a Big Ten Conference-high 52 kills for a 5.20 kills per set mark on a .226 hitting percentage, while adding 23 digs, five blocks and five service aces.
Junior Morgan O'Brien led the Illini with 34 digs for a 3.40 digs per set mark in the two matches, helping to hold the Vols to a .180 team hitting percentage. She also added nine assists and was second on the team with four service aces.
In her first-ever action for the Illini, redshirt-freshman Diana Brown notched back-to-back double-doubles and totaled 107 assists for a 10.70 assists per set clip as the Illini hit a .230 team attach percentage in the two matches. Brown also notched the second-most digs on the team with 26, while also adding seven kills on a .261 hitting percentage, five blocks and three service aces.
CAREER-HIGHS HIGHLIGHT SEASON OPENER
Senior Jacqueline Quade dominated with a career-high and match-high 31 kills on a .247 percentage and registered her 14th career double-double with a career-high 15 digs and three blocks in Friday night's season-opening win at Tennessee. Junior Megan Cooney also notched a career-high 19 kills on a .333 attack for the Illini.
In her Illini debut, redshirt-freshman setter Diana Brown notched her first-career double-double with 65 assists and 15 digs, while directing the Illini to a .246 team hitting percentage.
ILLINI MOVE UP ONE SPOT TO NO. 5 IN AVCA POLL
After opening the 2019 season with a No. 6 ranking the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll, the Illini moved up one spot to No. 5 following back-to-back wins over then-No. 19 Tennessee over the weekend.
Illinois is one of seven Big Ten schools ranked the AVCA Poll and are the third-highest behind No. 2 Nebraska and No. 4 Wisconsin, with No. 6 Penn State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 14 Michigan and No. 18 Purdue also making appearances in the rankings, while Iowa and Maryland are also recieving votes.
Along with their conference foes, the Illini have or will face three other opponents in the top-25, including No. 11 Marquette, No. 16 Washington and No. 21 Tennessee, with Colorado and UCF also receiving votes.
QUADE TABBED UNANIMOUS PRESEASON ALL-B1G
Illinois volleyball senior Jacqueline Quade was named a unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten honoree as voted on by the Big Ten Conference coaches, with the No. 6 Illini picked to finish fifth in the league standings for the second-straight season, the conference announced on August 26.
It is the first such honor for Quade, who collected American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First-Team All-America honors as well as unanimous All-Big Ten First-Team accolades in a breakout junior campaign.
In her first year as a six-rotation player a season ago, Quade paced the Illini offense with a 4.24 kills per set mark on a .265 hitting percentage, while totaling 625 points on the season to rank sixth in the nation for a 4.73 points per set average. The MVP of the 2018 B1G/Pac-12 Challenge, Quade also registered 254 digs, 63 blocks and 32 service aces on the season. She owned nine double-doubles on the season, as well as registered 10 20-kill matches.
Quade was also named to the NCAA National Championship All-Tournament Team after leading the Illini with 28 kills on a .237 hitting percentage – just one kill off her career-high – and 13 digs in the team's National Semifinal match against Nebraska at the NCAA Final Four last December.
ROSTER RUNDOWN
The Illini return 10 members from the 2018 NCAA National Semifinal squad, including American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Jacqueline Quade and All-Big Ten Second-Team honoree Ashlyn Fleming, who join classmates Beth Prince and Caroline Welsh for their senior season in Champaign.
Juniors Megan Cooney, Morgan O'Brien, Kylie Bruder and Emily Hollowell, sophomore Taylor Kuper and redshirt-freshman Diana Brown complete the returning roster.
Joining the squad for 2019 are Auburn sophomore transfer Mica Allison, redshirt-freshman Bruna Vrankovic and freshmen Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Kyla Swanson, Ellie Holzman, Alyssa Eske and Madison Chi.
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 has made an immediate impact on Illinois volleyball and owns an overall record of 57-15 (.792), including a 29-11 (.725) 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.
STRONG SCHEDULE SET FOR ILLINI IN 2019
The 2019 schedule features 29 matches and is highlighted by 11 matches at Huff Hall. This season the Illini will take on another strong slate of opponents with 13 NCAA Tournament participants, including seven Sweet 16 teams and three Elite Eight foes and will face national runner-up Nebraska in their Big Ten Conference opener at home on September 27.
Schedule Notes:
• Ranked in the final 2018 AVCA poll: 14 matches vs. 10 teams, 1 match vs. RV
• 2018 RPI Top 50: 16 matches vs. 12 teams
• 2018 Conference Champions/Tournament Champions: 3 (Illinois State, UCF, Minnesota)
NCAA Tournament:
• Qualifiers: 13 (Tennessee, Washington, Colorado, Illinois State, UCF, Marquette, Loyola Marymount, Nebraska, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan)
• NCAA Second Round: 10 (Loyola Marymount, Tennessee, Washington, Penn State, Michigan, Marquette, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, Minnesota)
• Sweet 16: 7 (Washington, Marquette, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota)
• Elite Eight: 3 (Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin)
• National Runner-Up: 1 (Nebraska | Sept 27)
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.
