WELCOME TO THE 2022 VOLLEYBALL SEASON
Another scheduling first for the 2022 campaign is upon Illinois volleyball this week as the team plays its first midweek/weekend combination of matches, not to mention they are split home and away. Illinois volleyball is set for another grueling week of Big Ten action with a midweek home match against Rutgers on Wednesday before visiting No. 10 Minnesota on Saturday. The Orange and Blue own an 8-8 record as the team continues its conference schedule with two more tilts this week.
The 2022 campaign marks the 49th season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,042-603-7 (.633) and a mark of 471-300 (.611) in the Big Ten.
An audio stream of Wednesday's match against Rutgers will be available on FightingIllini.com/watch or live in the Champaign area on WDWS 1400AM & 93.9FM with Tim Ditman on the headset. Catch all the midweek action live on ESPNU in the Illini's first National TV appearance of the season.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
Rutgers and the Fighting Illini are set to square off for the 13th all-time meeting between the squads with the Orange and Blue taking the decision in the last 12 meetings. Illinois leads the series 12-1 including a 5-0 mark when meeting in Huff Hall. When playing in a nationally televised match, Illinois leads the series 1-0 after last year's win over the Scarlet Knights on BTN in Piscataway, N.J.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Illinois and Rutgers will meet for the first of two meetings this season on Wednesday, Oct. 12. The Scarlet Knights own a 7-11 overall record and 1-5 mark in Big Ten play. RU picked up its B1G win this past weekend over Iowa in five sets. Rutgers' one true road win this season came on opening weekend at College of Charleston, a 3-0 sweep.
ILLINI VOLLEYBALL TV APPEARANCES BY THE NUMBERS
- Last time televised: Dec. 9, 2021 vs. No. 10 Nebraska (N) // ESPNU // L, 3-0
- On ESPN affiliates: 25 times, 12-13 overall record in those matches
- All-time TV appearances: 204 (110-94)
- All-time National TV appearances: 130 (51-69)
- All-time vs. Rutgers on TV: 1-0 // BTN // W, 3-2 // at Rutgers // Oct. 29, 2021
- 2021 season Televised Matches: 7
- 2022 season Televised Matches: 6 scheduled // Rutgers is first of the season
PARKING CHANGES
With Neon Trees performing a concert in State Farm Center on Wednesday night, fans that opt to park there will have to pay to park. Shuttles will still extend down to State Farm Center for any fans that end up parking in the SFC lot. Volleyball fans are encouraged to park in the free parking areas. Additional parking areas can be found on the map linked HERE.
SATURDAY AT MINNESOTA TIME SET
Illinois volleyball's match on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Minnesota has been designated for a 3 p.m. CT first serve on the Big Ten Network. Head coach Chris Tamas and company's match will follow the Illinois vs. Minnesota football game on BTN that kicks off at 11 a.m.
Saturday's match will mark the second of five-straight Illinois volleyball matches that are slated to air on national TV.
NON-CONFERENCE GAUNTLET
Illinois volleyball faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules of the 2022 campaign, and did it entirely on the road. Illinois faced a top 15 opponent each of the first two weeks of the season - falling to No. 9 Georgia Tech and No. 14 Washington. The Orange and Blue's additional opponents include Ole Miss and Colorado - two more Power 5 programs with Colorado jumping into the rankings after the meeting.
After playing the third weekend at Dayton, the Illini squared off with Eastern Illinois in the midweek before heading up to No. 19 Marquette to face the Golden Eagles and Illinois State to close non-conference play.
Six of Illinois' 10 non-conference tilts came against NCAA Tournament teams from last season.
"You need to challenge yourself to figure out what your team's about and where you need to make improvements. If you never play teams and those issues don't get addressed, I'm not sure what you learn about yourself in pre-conference play. We have to continually put ourselves in those pressure situations and keep trying to rise above it." - Chris Tamas
MAKING HISTORY IN DAYTON
In the Fighting Illini's four-set win over Missouri State on Friday, Sept. 9, Illinois volleyball set a new program record. The Orange and Blue racked up 18 combined service aces in the victory, including seven from Raina Terry.
The Illini's 2022 mark surpassed the previous record of 17 aces, achieved twice against Michigan State (1982 & 1988).
ILLINI PICKED 6TH IN B1G PRESEASON POLL
Illinois volleyball was picked to finish tied for sixth in the league standings in 2022, the conference announced on August 1. Reigning national champion Wisconsin was picked as the conference favorite for the 2022 volleyball season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, while Nebraska was picked to finish second and Minnesota was tabbed third. Ohio State and Penn State rounded out the top five while the Illini tied with Michigan at sixth.
ROSTER RUNDOWN
The Illini carry a squad of 15 student-athletes for the 2022 campaign, including nine letterwinners from 2021 and four newcomers.
Diana Brown is the team's lone redshirt senior while Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Kyla Swanson and Jessica Nunge round out the seniors. Preseason All-B1G pick Raina Terry is listed as the Illini's lone junior.
Underclassmen include redshirt sophomore in Sophie Gregus along with three sophomores including Caroline Barnes, Kayla Burbage and Becca Sakoda. Sarah Bingham and Brooke Mosher are the Orange and Blue's redshirt freshmen while Cari Bohm, Bianca May and Sophie Stephenson round out the squad as the true freshmen.
HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS STARTS SIXTH SEASON AT THE HELM
Chris Tamas is in his sixth season as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2022 after being named to the position in February 2017. Tamas (pronounced Thomas) is the eighth head coach in Illinois history.
In his six seasons at the helm of the program, Tamas has made an immediate impact on Illinois volleyball and owns an overall record of 108-60 (.642), including a 62-42 (.596) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference, as well as four NCAA Tournament appearances, including three NCAA Regional appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2018.
University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced on March 23 an extension for volleyball head coach Chris Tamas. The extension, which was approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its March 17, 2022 meeting, will keep Tamas on a five-year contract through the 2026-27 season.
Tamas recently earned his 100th career win - with all 100 coming at the helm of the Illini program - after leading Illinois to its third trip to the Sweet 16 in five seasons after back-to-back wins to open the 2021 NCAA tournament.
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.
Under Tamas' leadership, his players have collected seven AVCA All-America honors, highlighted by AVCA All-America First-Team selections in Jordyn Poulter and Jacqueline Quade – the first time in program history that Illinois has had multiple first-team honors in a season – as well as a Third-Team selection in Ali Bastianelli during the 2018 season. Poulter and Bastianelli, who also garnered All-America Third Team honors in 2017, were also named 2018 Senior CLASS Award finalists and CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees. The trio also collected unanimous All-Big Ten First Team accolades, with junior Ashlyn Fleming named to the Second-Team and Poulter garnering the Illini's first-ever Big Ten Conference Co-Setter of the Year honor. Most recently, Megan Cooney was named a 2021 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, while current Illini Diana Brown became just the fifth Illini in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America Second-Team honors.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The Illini opened the 2022 slate with a split result at the Ole Miss Invitational. Illinois fell to No. 9 Georgia Tech in straight sets before picking up a 3-1 win over Ole Miss the following day. Kayla Burbage and Jessica Nunge earned spots on the Ole Miss Invitational All-Tournament Team.
The following weekend at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, hosted by the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo., the Illini fell to both Colorado (0-3) and No. 14 Washington (1-3). Raina Terry earned All-Tournament Team honors.
Illinois swept the Dayton Invitational across the third weekend, downing Missouri State (3-1), Villanova (3-0) and Dayton (3-0). Diana Brown earned Tournament MVP honors while Caroline Barnes and Raina Terry joined her on the All-Tournament Team.
The Illini wrapped up the non-conference schedule with a pair of tough five-set losses in Milwaukee, Wis., first taking on Illinois State, before battling host No. 19 Marquette later in the day.
The 2022 Big Ten volleyball schedule was announced by the conference in June, with members once again competing in a 20-match conference slate, with the Illini playing seven teams both home and away and six teams once (three home and three away).
Breakdown of opponents for the 2022 Big Ten schedule:
Home & Away – Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Home Only – Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue
Away Only – Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State
Schedule Notes
• 29 total matches
• 10 matches at Huff Hall
• 14 away matches, five neutral-site matches
• Three non-conference tournaments
• Ranked in the final AVCA poll: 11 matches vs. 8 teams
• 2021 Conference Champions/Tournament Champions: 5 (Washington Dayton, Marquette, Illinois State, Wisconsin)
• NCAA Tournament:
- Qualifiers: 13 (Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Washington, Dayton, Illinois State, Marquette, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin)
- Sweet 16: 7 (Georgia Tech, Washington, Ohio State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin)
- Elite Eight: 5 (Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin)
- Final Four: 2 (Nebraska, Wisconsin)
- National Runner-Up: 1 (Nebraska)
- National Champion: 1 (Wisconsin)
• Season opener: August 26 vs. Georgia Tech in Oxford, Miss.
• Home opener & B1G opener: September 23 vs. Maryland
• B1G road opener: October 2 at Wisconsin
• NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds: Dec. 1-3 at campus sites
• NCAA Tournament Regionals: Dec. 8-10 at campus sites
• NCAA Tournament Semifinals & Championship: Dec. 15 & 17 at CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
