MATCHÂ 12
Illinois volleyball continues with Big Ten play by hosting Michigan State for a Sunday matinee at Huff Hall. First serve from B1G+ is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
The 2023 campaign marks the 50th season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,054-617-7 (.632). Chris Tamas enters his seventh season at the helm for the Orange and Blue, boasting a 120-73Â (.630) mark.
An audio stream of the match will be available on FightingIllini.com/watch or live in the Champaign area on WDWS 1400AM & 93.9FM with Tim Ditman.Â
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois volleyball opened conference play at Indiana, falling 3-1 to the Hoosiers on Wednesday night. Individually, Raina Terry once again led the way in kills, tallying 19 in the match. Kennedy Collins posted double-figure kills as well, logging 11 while hitting .240. Brooke Mosher added the seventh double-double of her career, recording 35 assists and 12 digs.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
The series between Michigan State and Illinois favors the Fighting Illini, 55-28. During the last meeting between the squads, Illinois came out on top, 3-1, over the the Spartans. Brooke Mosher tallied a double-double during the last meeting, posting 12 digs and 10 kills.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
Raina Terry is currently ranked in the top-10 nationally in several categories. The senior outside hitter comes into the weekend fourth nationally in attacks per set (12.59) and sixth for points per set (5.3). Terry's 204 total kills rank first in the conference and eighth nationally, while her 554 total attacks also pace the Big Ten and are the fifth-most in the country. With 239 total points, the Ohio native currently sits atop the league standings and 10th in all of Division I. In the Illinois career rankings, Terry sits in 13th all-time with 1,299 career kills.
THE 400 CLUB
Kennedy Collins ranks among the elite in the Illini history books, having tallied her 400th career block against UCF during Illinois' final nonconference match of the season. The Zion, Ill., native currently ranks 17th all-time for total blocks. Her 360Â block assists are also 15th in the career records.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Michigan State enter the weekend at 8-3 this season. The Spartans went 3-0 last weekend in Storrs, Conn., to win the 2023 Dog Pound Challenge hosted by UConn. Middle blocker Amani McArthur was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week last week as she finished the weekend with 14 total blocks (four solo, 10 assisted), which tied for first among all conference players and ranked second in blocks per set at 1.75.Â
BIG BLOCK O'CLOCK
The Fighting Illini block has caused problems for opponents so far this season. Through 11 matches, the Orange and Blue have tallied double-digit roofs in six contests. The team's 14 blocks against the Shockers of Wichita State on Sept. 1 marked a season-high for Illinois.Â
NUNGE NATION
Jessica Nunge returned to the Fighting Illini volleyball team for her fifth year, as announced on Sept. 1. The outside hitter made her season debut in the second set against Wichita State. For the full story on Nunge's decision to return, click here.
REIGN OFÂ TERROR
For a second-straight year, Raina Terry was named to the Big Ten Preseason Team. Terry was one of 15 conference student-athletes to earn the accolade.
The outside hitter was a unanimous All-Big Ten first-team selection following her junior season. The Marengo, Ohio, native joined an elite group of 32 Illini players who have earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast All-Region honors.
Last season, Terry led the Orange and Blue with 444 kills and 4.07 kills per set. The outside hitter paced the Big Ten with 363 points during conference play, averaging 3.04 points per set.Â
During her junior campaign, Terry recorded over 20 kills on three separate occasions, all during Big Ten play. She tallied a season-high 24 kills against both Purdue (Sept. 30) and Penn State (Oct. 26). Her first effort came against Maryland on Sept. 23, when she logged 20 kills in a four-set battle on the road.
TERRY ENTERSÂ CAREER ACES TOP-10
Six-rotation outside hitter Raina Terry owns 137 career service aces. Terry tallied 28 aces as a freshman, 55 as a sophomore and 45 last year. Already with nine aces during her senior campaign, the Ohio native is currently eighth on Illinois' all-time career aces rankings. She also sits 19th nationally for career aces.
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. Raina Terry - 2020-present - 137
9. Sandy Scholtens - 1985-88 - 131
10. Nancy Brookhard - 1986-89 - 122
ILLINI IN THE PRESEASON POLL
Illinois volleyball was picked to finish seventh in the league standings in 2023, the conference announced in late July. Reigning national champion Wisconsin was picked as the conference favorite for the 2023Â volleyball season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, while Nebraska was picked to finish second and Minnesota was tabbed third.Â
HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMASÂ AT THE HELM
Chris Tamas enters his seventh season as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2023 after being named to the position in February 2017. Tamas (pronounced Thomas) is the eighth head coach in Illinois history.
In his time with the program, Tamas has made an impressive impact on Illinois volleyball and owns an overall record of 120-73Â (.630), including a 69-50Â (.585) 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.Â
Tamas most 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, including a four-set win over 2020-21 national champion and No. 7 seed Kentucky in Lexington. The Illini finished the 2021 season ranked No. 16 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll with a 22-12 overall record and finished seventh with a 12-8 mark in the Big Ten Conference. Â
Illinois experienced one of its most successful seasons ever in 2018 under Tamas, who was subsequently named 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 ending the season ranked No. 3 in the 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 in school history.
Under Tamas' leadership, the Illini collected a number of individual honors, highlighted by AVCA All-America First-Team selections in Jordyn Poulter and Jacqueline Quade – the first time in program history Illinois has had multiple first-team honors in a season – as well as a Third-Team selection in Ali Bastianelli. Poulter and Bastianelli, who also garnered All-America Third-Team honors in 2017, were also named 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.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The 2023 schedule features a nonconference slate of 10 matches with a pair of opponents from last year's NCAA Tournament. The Orange and Blue squad will face Big Ten opponents in 20 matches, including home-and-home series with Purdue, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, three NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.
Breakdown of opponents for the 2023Â Big Ten schedule:
Home & Away – Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Home Only – Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State
Away Only – Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska
Schedule Notes
• 30 total matches
• 13 matches at Huff Hall
• 14 away matches, three neutral-site matches
• NCAA Tournament:
   - Qualifiers: 8 (Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, UCF, USC, Wisconsin)
  - Sweet 16: 5 (Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin)
  - Elite Eight: 2 (Ohio State, Wisconsin)
• Season opener: Aug. 26 at Northern Illinois
• Home opener: Aug. 29 vs. ValparaisoÂ
• B1G opener: Sept. 20 at Indiana
• B1G home opener: Sept. 24 vs. Michigan State
