University of Illinois
Minnesota
Illini Volleyball on the Road at No. 5 Minnesota
March 11, 2021 | Volleyball
News
| ILLINOIS (2-8) at No. 5 Minnesota (9-1) | |
|---|---|
| Date | Time | Friday, March 12 - 6 p.m. CT | Saturday, March 13 - 5 p.m. CT |
| Location | Maturi Pavilion | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Live Stream | BTNPlus.com (subscription needed) |
| Radio | WDWS 1400 | Listen |
| Live Stats | https://gophersports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary |
| Printable Notes | Illinois | Minnesota |
| Stats | Illinois | Minnesota |
| Series History | Series tied, 39-39-1 | Last Match: Illinois lost, 3-1, on 10/19/2019 | Streak Lost 3 | Results |
| Shop | Online Store |
| Social Media | @IlliniVBall  | #Illini | @IlliniVBall  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
FIRST SERVE | WEEK EIGHT
For the first time since Feb. 5-6, the Illinois volleyball team is back on the road for a two-match series against No. 5 Minnesota in Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 12-13.
The Illini and Gophers will open the weekend with a 6 p.m. CT match on Friday night, before a 5 p.m. CT contest on Saturday, with both matches streaming on Big Ten Network+ (subscription needed). Fans can also listen to both matches on the radio on WDWS 1400 in Champaign and online at wdws.com.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illini are tied in the all-time series with Minnesota, 39-39-1 and are 16-19 in Minneapolis.
The Illini have lost three-in-a-row with the Gophers, with Minnesota taking both meetings during the 2019 season by a score of 3-1.
Senior Megan Cooney led the way with a team-high 35 kills (4.38 kills per set) in the two matches a season ago, with redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown handing out 101 assists for a 12.63 assists per set mark. Sophomore Kennedy Collins also had a big two matches against the Gophers with 16 total blocks for a 2.00 stuffs per set average.
NEBRASKA RECAP
Facing another top-10 opponent, the Illinois volleyball team battled against No. 4 Nebraska, suffering a pair of 3-0 setbacks last weekend, March 5-6.
Freshman Raina Terry led the Illini in the series, totaling 25 kills to average 4.17 kills per set on a .360 hitting percentage, while adding nine digs for 1.50 digs per set as well as three service aces, two assists and a block. Terry started off her weekend with 12 kills on a .400 hitting percentage and five digs, before posting 13 kills – her fourth-straight match leading the team – on a .320 hitting percentage to go along with a team-best three aces and four digs.
Redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown handed out 59 assists for a 9.83 assists per set mark, while junior Taylor Kuper registered 29 digs for a 4.83 digs per set mark. Sophomore Rylee Hinton also led the Illini at the net with eight blocks in the two maches.
TERRY TEARING IT UP
A regular in the lineup all season, freshman Raina Terry has recently been tearing it up on the court and has registered five-straight double-digit kill outings and posted back-to-back double-double efforts against Ohio State.
In her last five matches, Terry has totaled a team-leading 71 kills for a 3.55 kills per set average on a .277 hitting percentage, while also adding the third-most digs on the team with 41 (2.05 digs per set) and the second-most aces with 10. She has also notched six blocks in that span.
Terry also posted career-highs of 19 kills, 13 digs and three aces in a five-set setback to the undefeated Buckeyes on Feb. 20.
ILLINI IN NCAA & B1G RANKINGS
• Illinois is 26th the nation and leads the Big Ten in aces per set (1.95).
• Illinois ranks 46th in the nation and paces the conference in service aces (76).
• Junior Taylor Kuper is 11th in the nation and first in the Big Ten in aces per set (0.62).
• Kuper also ranks 26th in the NCAA and leads the Big Ten in aces (24).
• Kuper leads the conference in digs per set (4.46).
• Sophomore Rylee Hinton ranks 51st in the nation and is sixth in the league with 1.28 blocks per set and is fifth in the Big Ten with 50 total blocks.
• Senior Megan Cooney is fifth in the Big Ten with 4.17 points per set and is fifth in the league with 162.5 total points.
• Cooney is also eighth in the conference with 3.42 kills per set.
• Freshman Raina Terry ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 13 service aces and is eighth with 0.36 aces per set.
THE BIG TEN GAUNTLET
After opening the 2020-21 season with a pair of wins at Iowa on Jan. 22-23, Illinois has faced five of the top six teams in the Big Ten Conference, with all five teams - including this weekend's opponent No. 5 Minnesota - sitting in the top 12 of this week's AVCA Volleyball Top 25 Poll.
The five teams have also combined for a 45-7 record - with five losses coming from No. 12 Penn State.
The Illini are also one of only two teams to take a set of No. 1 Wisconsin and were the first team to do so, winning the third set in its Saturday match against the Badgers on Jan. 30.
WELCOME TO THE 2020-21 VOLLEYBALL SEASON
The 2020-21 season marks the 47th season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,007-580-7 (.632) and a mark of 451-286 (.612) in the Big Ten.
The Big Ten Conference will play a league-only schedule for the 2020-21 spring season that will run 11 weeks with two matches each week against the same opponent for a total of 22 regular-season contests. Each school wih have five two-match home series, five two-match road series and one split week with its travel partner. There will be no regular season non-conference matches and the Illini will not face Michigan or Rutgers during the season.
PANDEMIC TIMELINE
• March 13 » Big Ten suspends all athletic activities.
• June 29 » Members of the Illinois team begin returning to campus for voluntary workouts.
• July 9 » Big Ten announces conference-only schedules for fall sports.
• Aug. 7 » Illinois begins volleyball practice.
• Aug. 11 » Big Ten presidents and chancellors postpone all fall sports.
• Sept. 22 » NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved plan to hold 2020 fall championships in spring of 2021 and announces first competition date for volleyball as Jan. 22.
• Dec. 30 » Big Ten announces the 2020-21 volleyball schedule.
• Jan. 22 » Illinois at Iowa - 413 days after the Illini played in its last match in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Utah on December, 6, 2019.
• Jan. 29 » Illinois vs. Wisconsin - 431 days after the Illini played their last volleyball match in Huff Hall for the 2019 season, earning a 3-1 win over Northwestern on November 27, 2019.
ROSTER RUNDOWN
The Illini return 12 members from the 2019 squad, including All-Big Ten Freshman Team honoree Diana Brown, senior Megan Cooney and defensive specialist Taylor Kuper.
Seniors Kylie Bruder and Emily Hollowell, junior Mica Allison, redshirt-sophomore Bruna Vrankovic and sophomores Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Kyla Swanson and Alyssa Eske complete the returning roster.
Redshirt-freshman Ellie Holzman - who was with the Illini in 2019, but redshirted the season - will join three other freshmen Maddie Whittington, Raina Terry and Sophie Gregus for the 2020-21 campaign.
BIG TEN NETWORK RELEASES VOLLEYBALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Big Ten Network announced its 2020-21 volleyball broadcast schedule on January 19, with Illinois appearing nationally on the network for four matches this spring.
All matches televised on Big Ten Network will also be streamed on FoxSports.com and the FoxSports app. All remaining home matches will be streamed on BTNPlus.com (subscription necessary), with remaining road matches announced at a later date.
» Saturday, January 30 vs. Wisconsin (11 a.m. CT)
» Friday, February 5 at Penn State (8 p.m. CT)
» Friday, March 5 vs. Nebraska (8 p.m. CT)
» Saturday, March 27 vs. Indiana (5 p.m. CT)
HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS STARTS FOURTH SEASON AT THE HELM
Chris Tamas is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2020-21 after being named to the position in February 2017. Tamas (pronounced Thomas) is the eighth head coach in Illinois history.
In his first four seasons at the helm of the program, Tamas has made an immediate impact on Illinois volleyball and owns an overall record of 73-37 (.664), including a 42-28 (.600) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference, as well as three-straight 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.
