FIRST SERVE | WEEK EIGHT
The Illinois volleyball team looks to continue its momentum from Wednesday night's sweep of Iowa as the Illini travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face No. 9 Nebraska on Saturday (Oct. 16) at 6 p.m. CT.
The match will be streamed on B1G+ ($) as well as broadcasted on the radio on WDWS 1400 in Champaign and streamed on FightingIllini.com.
The 2021 season marks the 48th season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,024-589-7 (.634) and a mark of 460-292 (.612) in the Big Ten.Â
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illini trail the all-time series with the Huskers, 8-29-1, including a 3-12 mark in Lincoln, Neb. The Illini dropped both matches during the 2020-21 spring season in March in Huff Hall. The Illini hold a 33-6 advantage in Huff Hall, host of this Wednesday's match.
ILLINI EARN B1G SWEEP OVER IOWA
The Illinois volleyball team needed just an hour and 25 minutes to earn its first sweep in Big Ten Conference action as the Illini defeated Iowa, 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-20) on Wednesday (Oct. 13) night in Huff Hall.
The Illini had a balanced offense as junior Jessica Nunge and sophomore Raina Terry led the way with nine kills each on hitting percentages of .391 and .300 respectively, while graduate student Megan Cooney and junior Kyla Swanson each added eight kills on the night.
Redshirt-junior Diana Brown handed out 32 assists en route to directing the Illini to a .326 team attack clip, while also notching four blocks and a pair of service aces.
Senior Taylor Kuper registered a team-high 14 digs, with Cooney adding 10 digs as the Illini held the Hawkeyes to a .099 team hitting percentage. UI also outblocked Iowa, 10 to 2.5, with junior Kennedy Collins equaling a season-high with seven blocks in the win.
ILLINI NO. 32 IN SECOND NCAA RPI RANKING
The NCAA released its second RPI of the season on Monday (Oct. 12), with Illinois coming in at No. 32Â in the ranking.Â
The Illini have or will face nine opponents that sit in the top 25, with 11 foes ranking in the top 50.Â
ILLINI IN NCAA & B1G RANKINGS
• Illinois is ninth the nation and leads the Big Ten in total service aces (138).
• Illinois ranks 16th in the nation and leads the Big Ten in service aces per set (1.94).
• Illinois is 76th in the NCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.182).Â
• Illinois is 96th in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.27).Â
• Sophomore Raina Terry is 13th in the NCAA and leads the Big Ten with 31 total aces and is 36th nationally and third in the conference with 0.46 aces per set.
• Terry also ranks 86th nationally and fourth in the conference with 269.5 total points on the season.Â
• Senior Taylor Kuper ranks 32nd in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten in aces (28) and is 93rd in the nation and fifth in the league in aces per set (0.39).Â
• Kuper ranks 91st in the NCAA and fourth the conference in digs per set (4.44) and is 45th in the nation and tops in the Big Ten with 315 digs on the season.
• Along with Kuper and Terry, the Illini boast four players in the top eight in the conference for service aces, with junior Jessica Nunge ranking ninth (25) and graduate student Megan Cooney sitting in eighth (24).Â
• Redshirt-junior Diana Brown ranks 18th in the NCAA and leads the conference with 703 total assists, while also sitting 70th nationally and ninth in the Big Ten with 9.90 assists per set.Â
• Junior Kennedy Collins ranks 64th in the NCAA and fourth in the Big Ten with 74.0 total blocks.Â
KUPERÂ HITS 1,000 CAREER DIGS, CLOSING IN ON ACES RECORD
A constant in the Illini lineup through her four years at Illinois, senior Taylor Kuper reached a career milestone in the Missouri match on Sept. 17 as she collected a match-high 18 digs, with her 14th dig of the match marking her 1,000 career dig. Kuper becomes the 16th Illini to reach that mark and is currently in ninth place in program history with 1,159 career digs.Â
The Lenexa, Kansas native also owns 149 career service aces and moved into fourth place in program history with two aces in the win over Iowa on September 22. Illini Hall of Famer Mary Eggers owns the all-time record with 180 aces from 1985-88, with Laura Bush (1987-90) sitting in second with 176 and Disa Johnson (1984-87) in third with 154.Â
CONSISTENT COONEY
Graduate student Megan Cooney has been a stalwart in the Illini lineup since she has been a freshman - playing in 132 of 136 in her five years. She has seen action in 501 sets, ranking her fifth all-time in program history, just 15 sets behind the program record established by Mary Eggers with 516 sets played from 1985-88.Â
After reaching the 1,000 kills mark a season ago on the road at Penn State, she also recently moved over 1,300 kills, 400 digs and 300 blocks in her Illini career and is closing in on 1,400 kills and 500 digs. Heading into this weekend's match, Cooney currently sits at 1,343 kills, 435 digs and 313 blocks in her career.Â
WEEK SEVEN STANDOUTS
Sophomore Raina Terry totaled a team-high 26 kills, while adding 18 digs, four blocks and four service aces.Â
Senior Taylor Kuper turned in 38 digs (4.22 digs per set), while junior Kennedy Collins led the Illini at the net with nine blocks.Â
Redshirt-junior Diana Brown handed out 72 assists to go along with 24 digs and seven blocks.Â
HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMASÂ INÂ FIFTHÂ SEASON AT THE HELM
Chris Tamas is in his fifth season as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2021 after being named to the position in February 2017. Tamas (pronounced Thomas) is the eighth head coach in Illinois history.
In his five seasons at the helm of the program, Tamas has made an immediate impact on Illinois volleyball and owns an overall record of 90-46 (.662), including a 51-34 (.600) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference, as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances.
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.
BARTSCH-HACKLEY INDUCTED TO ILLINOIS ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020
Former Illini great Michelle Bartsch-Hackley was one of 15 former Illini greats that were named to the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020. The class includes athletes and coaches from nine different sports and covers athletes from 1901 through 2013.
Bartsch-Hackley was one of the most well-rounded stars in Fighting Illini volleyball history. Bartsch-Hackley earned AVCA Third-Team All-America honors in 2010 and 2011 and Honorable Mention recognition in 2009 and was also selected to the Volleyball Magazine All-America First-Team in 2011. She was named First-Team All-Region and All-Big Ten in 2010 and 2011, was named the AVCA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year and placed on the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2008, and was honorable-mention all-conference in 2009.Â
She has been a U.S. National Team member since 2016 and is currently playing professionally in Istanbul. She helped lead Illinois to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen from 2008-10 and to the national championship match in 2011.Bartsch-Hackley
