FIRST SERVE | WEEK FIVE
After finishing its nonconference portion of the schedule at 8-3 - marking the best start to a season since starting the 2018 season at 14-0 - the Illinois volleyball team looks to continue its success as the Illini head into Big Ten Conference play this week.Â
The Illini open league play on Wednesday (Sept. 22) with a trip to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on Iowa in a Big Ten Network-televised match at 6 p.m. CT.Â
UI then returns home to Huff Hall for its conference home opener against Northwestern on Saturday (Sept. 25) at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed via BTN+ ($). Â
Both matches will be 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 1,020-586-7 (.635) and a mark of 456-289 (.612) in the Big Ten.Â
The Illini are 25-13 in Big Ten openers and have won their last seven conference starters, including a 3-1 win at Iowa last season on January 23.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The Illini lead the series with the Hawkeyes, 66-14 and have won seven-straight, including sweeping both matches during the 2020-21 season held in the spring.
The Illini hold a 29-8 advantage in Iowa City, host of this Wednesday's match.
Graduate student Megan Cooney led the Illini offense with 30 kills on a .269 hitting percentage in two back-to-back matches during the 2020-21 spring season. Sophomore Raina Terry added 12 kills and 10 blocks as the Illini held the Hawkeyes to a .097 team attack clip. Â
BROWN NAMED BIG TEN SETTER OF THE WEEK
After leading the Illinois volleyball team to a 3-0 weekend – including a perfect 9-0 mark in sets – at the Redbird Classic over the weekend, redshirt-junior Diana Brown was named the Big Ten Conference Setter of the Week, the conference announced on Monday (Sept. 20).
It marks the first weekly conference honor the Illini have received this season and the second weekly accolade Brown has earned after being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week during her rookie campaign. Â
Brown collected MVP and All-Tournament honors at the Redbird Classic after registering 103 assists for a 11.44 assists per set mark to lead the Illini to a .319 team hitting percentage on the weekend. She added 17 digs, six blocks, three kills on a .200 hitting percentage and an ace in the three wins.
The Columbus, Ohio native started off the tournament by passing out 35 assists and directing the Illini to a .368 attack clip, while also turning in four digs and three blocks against Missouri. She then guided UI to a season-best .375 hitting percentage at Illinois State after handing out 35 assists to go along with five digs and two blocks. Brown wrapped the weekend by recording 33 assists, eight digs, two kills and a block in the Illini's third-straight sweep against North Texas, with the team hitting at a .225 attack clip.Â
REDBIRD CLASSICÂ RECAP, ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMÂ & WEEKEND STANDOUTS
The Illinois volleyball team swept its competition with a perfect 9-0 mark in sets at the Redbird Classic, securing sweeps against Missouri (25-15, 25-14, 25-21) and Illinois State (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) on Friday, before capping the weekend with a 3-0 win against North Texas (25-19, 25-21, 25-12).Â
Junior Kennedy Collins totaled a team-high 32 kills for a 3.56 kills per set mark on a .473 hitting percentage after registering just six errors in 55 swings, while also pacing the team with 15 blocks for a 1.67 blocks per set clip on the weekend to help hold UI's opponents to a .136 hitting percentage.Â
Collins kicked off her weekend with a dominant performance against Missouri with match-high of 13 kills – with just one error on 22 swings – on a season-best .545 hitting percentage and four blocks, before another standout outing against the host Redbirds with 10 kills on a .643 attack clip and a season-high eight blocks.Â
Junior Jessica Nunge registered 25 kills on a .375 hitting percentage to go along with 13 digs, three blocks and four service aces at the Redbird Classic.
Her weekend was highlighted against UNT as she turned in nine kills on a season-best .471 hitting percentage after committing just one error on 17 swings.
For their efforts, redshirt-junior Diana Brown, Collins and Nunge were named to the Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team, with Brown earning MVP honors.Â
Senior Taylor Kuper paced the Illini defensive effort with 44 digs for a 4.89 digs per set mark, while serving up seven aces. As a team, the Illini collected 24 aces to average 2.67 per set.Â
Redshirt-freshman Maddie Whittington also had a solid weekend as she totaled 11 kills on a .409 hitting percentage, while adding three blocks and an ace. Whittington's tournament was highlighted with six kills on a .500 hitting percentage after just one error in 10 swings to go along with two blocks against Missouri.
ILLINI IN NCAA & B1G RANKINGS
• Illinois leads the nation in service aces per set (2.42).
• Illinois is fifth the nation and leads the Big Ten in total service aces (97).
• Illinois ranks 56th in the NCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.166).Â
• Illinois is 61st in the NCAA and sixth in the Big Ten with 13.43 kills per set.Â
• Senior Taylor Kuper ranks ninth in the NCAA and leads the Big Ten in aces (24).
• Kuper also ranked 16th in the nation and leads in the Big Ten in aces per set (0.60).
• Kuper ranks 62nd in th NCAA and third the conference in digs per set (4.65) and is third in the Big Ten with 186 digs on the season.
• Sophomore Raina Terry is 35th in the NCAA and third in the Big Ten with 20 total aces and is 40th nationally and third in the conference with 0.50 aces per set.
• Along with Kuper and Terry, the Illini boast four players in the top six in the conference for service aces, with junior Jessica Nunge ranking fifth (18) and graduate student Megan Cooney sitting in sixth (17).Â
• Redshirt-junior Diana Brown ranks 39th in the NCAA and third in the conference with 418 total assists, while also sitting 43rd nationally and seventh in the Big Ten with 10.45 assists per set.Â
KUPERÂ HITS 1,000 CAREER DIGS, CLOSING IN ON RECORD BOOK MARK
A constant in the Illini lineup through her four years at Illinois, senior Taylor Kuper reached a career milestone in Friday's match against Missouri 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.
The Lenexa, Kansas native also owns 145 career service aces and moved into fifth place in program history with three aces in the win over North Texas on Saturday (Sept. 18). Illini Hall of Famer Mary Eggers owns the all-time record with 180 aces from 1985-88.
COONEY'SÂ CAREER MARKS
Graduate student Megan Cooney has been a stalwart in the Illini lineup since she has been a freshman - playing in 125 of 129 in her five years.Â
After reaching the 1,000 kills mark a season 210904 VB Colorado CAP130.jpg ago on the road at Penn State, she recently moved over 1,200 career kills is now closing in on 300 blocks. Heading into the start of Big Ten Conference play this week, Cooney is just eight blocks away and sits at 1,246 kills and 292 blocks in her career.Â
She also recently passed 300 career digs at the Bluejay Invitational and currently owns 359 digs in her five-year Illini career.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 86-43 (.667), including a 47-31 (.603) 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, POULTER & VIRTUE HELP LEAD TEAM USA TO FIRST-EVER OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALÂ
A trio of former Illinois volleyball greats are now Olympic gold medalists as Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and Jordyn Poulter, along with USA Volleyball assistant coach Erin Virtue, helped lead Team USA to its first-ever gold medal in women's volleyball with a dominating 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 24-14) victory over Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
It marks the sixth medal earned by the United States in women's volleyball adding to its three silver medals (1984, 2008, 2012) and two bronze medals (1992, 2016).
Bartsch-Hackley and Poulter also become the first Illinois female athletes to earn gold medals and just the third and fourth Illini female athletes to medal at an Olympic Games following bronze medals from Tonya Buford-Bailey in the 400m hurdles at the 1996 Olympic Games and Aja Evans in bobsled at the 2014 Olympic Games.
The United States finished is tournament with a 7-1 record and dominated the playoff matches with sweeps in the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds. For their efforts, five members of Team USA were named to the Olympic Dream Team, highlighted by Bartsch-Hackley being named the Best Outside Hitter and Poulter earning Best Setter of the tournament.
USA controlled the gold medal match from start to finish, with Bartsch-Hackley posting 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks and one ace, while adding three digs and 11 successful receptions. Poulter, who came back from an ankle injury suffered during pool play to set in the semifinals and finals, helped her team to a .418 hitting efficiency. She totaled 36 assists, six digs and one point with a kill.
Bartsch-Hackley was a three-time All-American for Illinois from 2008-11 and led the Illini to the national championship match in 2011. Poulter was also a three-time All-American, including earning first-team accolades as a senior in 2018 as well as being named Big Ten Co-Setter of the Year, AVCA Northeast Region Player of the Year and a finalist for the Honda Award and led the Illini to the program's fourth-ever NCAA National Semifinal appearance. Virtue, who joined the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team as a consultant coach in 2017 and moved into a full-time role with USA Volleyball in fall of 2018, was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American setter during her time in the Orange and Blue from 2001-05.Â
