Weekend Clashes Against #15 Penn State, Iowa Await Illinois Volleyball

MATCHES 13-14

Illinois volleyball readies for a BIg Ten homestand as the team welcomes #15 Penn State and Iowa to Huff Hall. The Fighting Illini take on the ranked Nittany Lions on Friday at 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network. The face-off against the Hawkeyes is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday on B1G+

The 2023 campaign marks the 50th season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,055-617-7 (.630). Chris Tamas enters his seventh season at the helm for the Orange and Blue, boasting a 121-73 (.630) mark.

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

LAST TIME OUT

A five-set thriller favored the Illini on Sunday as the team topped Michigan State for the squad's first Big Ten victory. Raina Terry owned a 25-kill performance, the fourth time this year she has tallied over 20 kills. Kennedy Collins posted a solid outing, recording a season-best in both kills and blocks with 19 and nine, respectively. The Zion, Ill., native also owned an impressive .680 hitting percentage for the match.

Brooke Mosher added her sixth double-double of the year when she tallied 46 assists and career-best 17 digs. Cari Bohm's seven total blocks tied her career-high.

ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD

Penn State holds the 50-13 all-time advantage over the Fighting Illini. However, Illinois came out on top during the last meeting between the programs, downing the Nittany Lions, 3-1, at Huff Hall last season. The triumph served as the Orange and Blue's lone win over a ranked opponent in 2022.

Against the Hawkeyes, Illinois is 69-14, having won 10-straight matches. During the matchup at Huff Hall last year, Illinois swept Iowa on Senior Day.

Head coach Chris Tamas owns at 3-7 record against Penn State and a 10-0 mark against Iowa. 

ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS

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 (12.73) and seventh for points per set (5.32). Terry's 229 total kills rank first in the conference and 11th nationally, while her 624 total attacks also pace the Big Ten and are the ninth-most in the country. With 260.5 total points, the Ohio native currently sits atop the league standings and 13th in all of Division I. In the Illinois career rankings, Terry sits in 13th all-time with 1,324 career kills.

THE 400 CLUB

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 on Sept. 15. The Zion, Ill., native currently ranks 17th all-time for total blocks. Her 369 block assists are also 15th in the career records.

OPPONENT SCOUT

#15 Penn State comes to Champaign at 8-3 on the year with an undefeated 2-0 record against Big Ten opponents. The Nittany Lions are 1-3 against ranked opponents, topping then-ranked No. 22 Western Kentucky for the lone triumph. As a team, Penn State ranks fifth nationally and first in the conference with 2.97 blocks per set. Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Jess Mruzik ranks ninth nationally and second in the league, behind Raina Terry, in points per set (5.24). The Michigan transfer also sits 12th in the country with 4.56 kills per set.

Iowa is searching for its first win in league play, owning a 8-6 mark on the year. The squad is 1-1 on the road this season, topping Syracuse in straight sets but falling at Sacramento State. Michelle Urquhart ranks eighth nationally and second in the BIg Ten with 30 service aces. The junior is also 15th in the country with 0.58 aces per set. 

BIG BLOCK O'CLOCK

The Fighting Illini block has caused problems for opponents so far this season. Through 12 matches, the Orange and Blue have tallied double-digit roofs in seven contests. The team's 17 blocks against the Spartans of Michigan State on Sept. 24 marked a season-high for Illinois. 

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 OF 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. 

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 ENTERS 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 2023 volleyball season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, while Nebraska was picked to finish second and Minnesota was tabbed third. 

HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS 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 121-73 (.630), including a 70-50 (.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. 

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.  

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 2023 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. Valparaiso 
• B1G opener: Sept. 20 at Indiana
• B1G home opener: Sept. 24 vs. Michigan State