MATCH 29-30

Illinois volleyball closes out the regular season with matches at Indiana and Northwestern this week. After a 2-0 weekend at Huff Hall, the Fighting Illini own a 15-13 mark overall and a 10-8 record in Big Ten action.

The 2022 campaign marks the 49th season of Illinois volleyball with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,049-608-7 (.633) and a mark of 478-305 (.610) in the Big Ten.

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

LAST TIME OUT    

The Illini are riding a four-match winning streak, having defeated Michigan State and Iowa in their final matches at Huff Hall this regular season. During the four set triumph over the Spartans, the team totaled 11 blocks with Rylee Hinton tallying a match high six roofs. Raina Terry recorded 19 kills while hitting .208 during the win.

Against the Hawkeyes, Jessica Nunge and Terry paced the squad with 11 kills each. Diana Brown added a double-double, posting 18 assists and 13 kills. 

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD

Illinois holds the 74-17 advantage over Indiana. The mark includes a 31-8 mark when visiting the Hoosiers. Against Northwestern, the Illini own a 64-30 record, going 26-14 when on the road.

OPPONENT SCOUT

Indiana enters the contest at 15-15 this year and 8-20 in Big Ten Play. The Hoosiers are riding a two-match winning streak, topping Northwestern and then-ranked No. 5 Ohio State in five-set thrillers last week.

Northwestern enters the final week of the regular season at 17-13 overall and 6-12 in league play. The team has lost six straight, winning just four sets during that time span. 

HITTING THE BOOKS

Three Illinois volleyball players earned College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors. Seniors Diana Brown and Jessica Nunge along with sophomore Caroline Barnes each earned Academic All-District recognition. All three players on the all-district team advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. The Academic All-America teams will be announced on December 21.

BLOCK IT OUT

The Illini tallied a season high 15 blocks during its upset over Penn State on Oct. 15. Rylee Hinton led the way with eight roofs for the Orange and Blue. Kennedy Collins tied her season high as she recorded six stuffs.

STUFF HUFF SELLOUT

Illinois volleyball's Stuff Huff match against No. 3 Nebraska on Oct. 22 was called a sellout two days ahead of the contest. Saturday's sellout is the first in Huff Hall since the 2019 edition of Stuff Huff when 4,152 fans also packed the facility. Since Huff Hall's capacity was adjusted to 4,152 in the spring of 2016 following renovations, Illinois volleyball has reached that mark six times including this year's sellout against Nebraska.

NO SUBSTITUTION SWEEP

In Illinois' Oct. 12 sweep of Rutgers, Chris Tamas adjusted his lineup and would ultimately not use a true substitution in the entire match. The Orange and Blue saw Raina Terry, Diana Brown, Kayla Burbage and Brooke Mosher play all six rotations for the entirety of the contest. Illinois' middles Kennedy Collins and Rylee Hinton played front row only with Caroline Barnes liberoing for them.

After surveying NCAA Volleyball teams, five total instances of this feat have been noted.

• Illinois* vs. Rutgers - 10/12/22 - W, 3-0
• Liberty* at Central Arkansas - 11/6/22 - W, 3-0
• Liberty* at Stetson - 10/22/22 - W, 3-0
• Manhattan* at Rider - 10/12/22 - L, 0-3
• Georgia Tech* at Georgia - 9/17/22 - W, 3-0
• Ohio State* vs. Texas - 8/26/22 - L, 0-3

HOT POTATO

In Illinois' match at No. 10 Minnesota on Oct. 15, six different Illini athletes recorded an ace from the service line while only seven Illini took a serve.  Missouri State (9/9/22) was the only other match where six different Illini recorded an ace. Seven Illini served in that outing as well.

BROWN CLIMBS ILLINI CAREER RANKS

Redshirt-senior setter Diana Brown continues to climb her way through Illinois' career assists rankings. Entering the weekend, Brown owns 4,131 career assists, giving her sole possession of fifth on Illinois' all-time list.

Illinois Volleyball Career Assist Rankings

1. Melissa Beitz - 1996-99 - 5,797 assists

2. Disa Johnson - 1984-87 - 5,576

3. Jordyn Poulter - 2015-18 - 5,156

4. Barb Winsett - 1987-90 - 4,457

5. Diana Brown - 2018-present - 4,194

6. Hillary Haen - 2007-10 - 3,956

7. Lizzie Bazzetta - 2005-08 - 3,847

HUFF WAS STUFFED

Illinois volleyball returned home for its fifth match in Huff Hall of the season this past Saturday, Oct. 22. The Illini squared off against No. 3 Nebraska in its annual Stuff Huff promotion.

TERRY ENTERS CAREER ACES TOP-10

Just midway through her junior campaign, six-rotation outside hitter Raina Terry already owns 118 career service aces. Terry tallied 28 aces as a freshman, 55 as a sophomore and already owns 43 on the 2022 campaign. The Marengo, Ohio, native currently holds sole possession of 9th place on Illinois' all-time career aces rankings.

Illinois Volleyball Career Service Ace Rankings

1. Mary Eggers - 1985-88 - 180 aces
2. Laura Bush - 1987-90 - 176
3. Taylor Kuper - 2018-21 - 173
4. Disa Johnson - 1984-87 - 154
5. Lorna Henderson - 1989-92 - 146
6. Tina Rogers - 1990-93 - 143
7. Chris Schwarz - 1985-88 - 141
8. Sandy Scholtens - 1985-88 - 131
9. Raina Terry - 2020-present - 126
10. Nancy Brookhard - 1986-89 - 122

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 115-65 (.639), including a 69-47 (.595) 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.