WEEK NINE: ILLINOIS (13-7, 5-4 B1G) VS. MICHIGAN (12-6, 5-4 B1G)
Match 21: Michigan	Sat, Oct. 23 // 3 p.m. // Champaign, Ill. // Huff Hall
Video	B1G+ // Watch
Radio	WDWS 1400 // Listen
Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Tickets	Buy Now | Ticket Deal: Bring your men's basketball ticket for the Illinois vs. St. Francis  and receive one complimentary general admission ticket to the match.
Game Day Information	Volleyball Fan Guide | Parking Information | Parking Map
Printable Notes	Illinois | Michigan
Stats	Illinois | Michigan
Series History	Michigan: Illinois leads, 50-26 | Last Match: Illinois lost, 1-3, on 11/9/2019 | Streak: Lost 2 | Results
Shop	Online Store
Social Media	@IlliniVBall  | #Illini | @IlliniVBall  | Facebook | YouTube

FIRST SERVE | WEEK NINE

The Illinois volleyball team returns to Huff Hall for its Pink Match against Michigan on Saturday (October 23) at 3 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 1,025-590-7 (.634) and a mark of 461-293 (.611) in the Big Ten. 

PROMOTIONS

PINK MATCH!
Saturday afternoon will be the annual Illini Pink Match in their support for Breast Cancer Awareness. We encourage all of our fans to wear pink and join the fight against breast cancer! The Fighting Illini Networkers will be taking donations for Mills Breast Cancer Institute, as well as providing information. A check will be presented on all the proceeds raised at a later match.

Gameday Spirit will be selling long sleeve t-shirts, and a portion of every sale go towards the Mills Breast Cancer Institute.They are also available in-stores at either their Neil or Green Street locations and online HERE.

ILLINI MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET DEAL!
Fans who bring their ticket to the Men's Basketball Exhibition game against St.Francis for Saturday, October 23rd will receive a free general admission ticket to the match.

TRUNK OR TREAT WITH THE ILLINI!
Prior to the match beginning, fans can Trick or Treat with Fighting Illini Student Athletes. Trunk or Treat will take place between the Siebel Center for Design and Huff Hall from 1:30-2:45. Masks are required, and costumes are highly encouraged. Please RSVP HERE. 

ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD

Saturday's meeting will be the first of two matches against the Wolverines this season, with the Illini also holding a 50-26 advantage in the all-time series. UI are 29-7 at home against Michigan and did not face UM during the 2020-21 spring season.   

ILLINI EARN SEASON SWEEP OF WILDCATS IN FOUR-SET WIN

The Illinois volleyball team completed a season sweep of Northwestern with a four-set (20-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-21) victory over the Wildcats on Wednesday (Oct. 20) night in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Sophomore Raina Terry came within two kills of a career-high as she poured in a season-high 21 kills on a .364 hitting percentage, while adding seven digs and a pair of blocks. Junior Jessica Nunge joined her in double figures with 13 kills on a .400 attack clip and added two aces.

Redshirt-junior Diana Brown handed out 41 assists as she directed the Illini to a .336 team hitting percentage, while also serving up a pair of aces.

Defensively, graduate student Megan Cooney led with 11 digs and senior Taylor Kuper added nine digs to go along with a pair of aces. At the net, the Illini outblocked their opponent for the fourth-straight match, totaling a season-high 13 blocks to Northwestern's four as junior Kennedy Collins continued her strong play with a match-high seven blocks – including equaling a career-high with two solo stuffs on the night, with Cooney and junior Kyla Swanson each adding six blocks in the win.

ILLINI NO. 35 IN NCAA RPI RANKING

The NCAA released its third RPI of the season on Monday (Oct. 19), with Illinois coming in at No. 35  in the ranking. 

The Illini have or will face eight opponents that sit in the top 25, with 10 foes ranking in the top 50. 

ILLINI IN NCAA & B1G RANKINGS

• Illinois is 12th the nation and leads the Big Ten in total service aces (149).

• Illinois ranks 18th in the nation and leads the Big Ten in service aces per set (1.91).

• Illinois is 35th in the NCAA in team total blocks (183.0). 

• Illinois is 59th in the NCAA in team kills (990). 

• Illinois is 73rd in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.35). 

• Illinois is 97th in the NCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.187). 

• Sophomore Raina Terry is 21st in the NCAA and is second in the Big Ten with 33 total aces and is 55th nationally and fourth in the conference with 0.42 aces per set.

• Senior Taylor Kuper ranks 37th in the NCAA and third in the Big Ten in aces (30). 

• Along with Kuper and Terry, the Illini boast four players in the top eight in the conference for service aces, with graduate student Megan Cooney sitting in sixth (27) and junior Jessica Nunge ranking eighth (26). Cooney also sits 79th and Nunge ranks 93rd in the NCAA in total aces. 

• Kuper ranks sixth the conference in digs per set (4.27) and is 59th in the nation and tops in the Big Ten with 333 digs on the season.

• Terry also ranks 85th in the NCAA and is fourth in the conference with 300.0 total points on the season and is 81st nationally and sits fourth in the Big Ten with 739 attacks on the season. 

• Redshirt-junior Diana Brown ranks 20th in the NCAA and leads the conference with 770 total assists, while also sitting 75th nationally and ninth in the Big Ten with 9.87 assists per set. 

• Junior Kyla Swanson ranks 92nd in the NCAA and 12th in the Big Ten with 1.15 blocks per set. 

• Junior Kennedy Collins ranks 40th in the NCAA and fourth in the Big Ten with 85.0 total blocks. 

WEEK EIGHT STANDOUTS

Sophomore Raina Terry again led the Illini with a team-high 16 kills in last week's two matches, while adding 13 digs and five blocks. 

Junior Kyla Swanson has continued her solid play and contributed 14 kills on a .333 hitting percentage to go along with eight blocks. 

Classmate and middle blocker-mate Kennedy Collins turned in a team-high 11 blocks on the week as the Illini outblocked their opponents, 19 to 7.5. 

Senior Taylor Kuper notched 23 digs to help hold UI's foes to a .183 hitting percentage. 

Redshirt-junior Diana Brown handed out 58 assists and added 14 digs and five blocks of her own, while directing the Illini to a .201 hitting percentage. 

CONSISTENT COONEY INCHING TOWARDS CAREERS SETS MARK

Graduate student Megan Cooney has been a stalwart in the Illini lineup since she has been a freshman - playing in 134 of 138 in her five years. She has seen action in 508 sets, ranking her in a tie for third all-time in program history, just eight sets behind the program record established by Mary Eggers with 516 sets played from 1985-88. 

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 1,354 kills, 451 digs and 321 blocks in her career. 

KUPER 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 eighth place in program history with 1,177 career digs. 

The Lenexa, Kansas native also owns 151 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.

HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS IN FIFTH 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 91-47 (.659), including a 52-35 (.598) 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. 

Bartsch-Hackley 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.