ILLINOIS (7-7) at Maryland & Penn State // Oct. 7 & 9 // College Park, Md. & University Park, Pa.
Match 15: at Maryland (9-7; 0-4)	Friday, Oct. 7 | 6 p.m. CT | XFINITY Center Pavilion (College Park, Md.) | Radio | Live Stats | B1G+
Match 16: at No. 13 Penn State (13-2; 2-2)	Sunday, Oct. 9 | 12 p.m. CT | Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.) | Radio | Live Stats | B1G+
Printable Notes	Illinois | Maryland | Penn State
Series History	Maryland: Illinois leads, 13-0; Last Match: ILL won, 3-1, on 9/23/2022; Streak: Won 13 Penn State: Illinois trails, 12-49; Last Match: ILL won, 3-1, on 10/30/2021; Streak: Won 1
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Social Media	@IlliniVBall  | #Illini | @IlliniVBall  | Facebook | YouTube

WELCOME TO THE 2022 VOLLEYBALL SEASON

Illinois volleyball is set for another grueling weekend of Big Ten action with its first two-match road weekend ahead. The Orange and Blue own a 7-7 record as the team continues its conference schedule this weekend with visits to Maryland and No. 13 Penn State on the docket.

The 2022 campaign marks the 49th season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,041-602-7 (.633) and a mark of 470-299 (.611) in the Big Ten.

An audio stream will be available on FightingIllini.com/watch or live in the Champaign  area on WDWS 1400AM & 93.9FM for both weekend matches with Tim Ditman on the headset . Catch all the action live on B1G+ for both matches.

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD

Maryland and the Fighting Illini are set to square off for the 14th all-time meeting between the squads. Illinois leads the series 13-0 including a 4-0 mark when meeting in College Park. 

Illinois trails 12-49 in the program's all-time series against perennial power house Penn State. That record includes a 4-27 mark when playing in Rec Hall.

OPPONENT SCOUT

This weekend, Illinois play its first two-match Big Ten road weekend. Friday will open the action with Illinois visiting Maryland at the XFINITY Center Pavilion for a 6 p.m. CT match. Maryland is 9-7 on the season and 0-4 in Big Ten play with one of those losses coming from the Illini in the first meeting of the season between the squads. Maryland has yet to be swept in conference play, taking four sets losses to the Illini and No. 3 Nebraska and five-set losses to Indiana and Michigan State.

Following Friday night's tilt, the Illini will head up to University Park, Pa., to pay the Nittany Lions a visit in Rec Hall. Currently ranked No. 13, Penn State owns a 13-2 overall record and 2-2 mark in Big Ten play. Penn State's losses have both come in the form of a sweep to No. 8 Wisconsin and [RV] Michigan.

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 107-59 (.645), including a 61-39 (.600) 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.

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.

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.