Fighting Illini Volleyball Opens Season at Best Western Invitational

MATCHES 1-2

Illinois volleyball begins the season with the Best Western Invitational from Aug. 30-31 at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. The season opener against Cincinnati is slated for Friday at 2 p.m. CT, with the match airing on YouTube. The battle against the host Falcons is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN+.

The 2024 campaign marks the 51st season of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,066-624-7 (.630). Chris Tamas enters his eighth season at the helm for the Orange and Blue, boasting a 131-79 (.624) mark.

An audio stream of the matches will be available on FightingIllini.com/live with Tim Ditman. 

REIGN OF TERROR 

Two-time AVCA all-region selection and two-time All-Big Ten First Team member Raina Terry returns for her final season in the Orange and Blue. The outside hitter announced her return for a fifth year during her Senior Day following the Illini's triumph over Michigan in 2023.

Terry closed out her senior campaign leading the Big Ten with 618 total points and finishing third with 539 total kills. At the end of the regular season, the outside hitter's 4.69 kills per set ranked sixth nationally and second in the conference, while her 5.37 points per set were seventh in the country and second in the league. At the end of 2023, the marks ranked eighth and ninth in the country, respectively.

In conference play alone, the senior placed second with 5.41 points per set and third with 4.72 kills per set. Terry also added 0.37 aces per set to rank 10th in the league. The 28 strikes from the service line were fifth best in the league.

During her reign of terror last season, Terry logged 10 matches with 20 or more kills, including seven against league opponents. The six-rotation outside hitter also registered three double-doubles last year. Terry paced the squad in kills during 28 of 30 matches in 2023.

The Marengo, Ohio, native was the first player in the Big Ten to reach 500 kills last year, eclipsing the mark on her Senior Night in the Illini's match against Michigan (Nov. 18). In the Orange and Blue's contest at Ohio State, Terry posted a career-best 28 kills in just four sets against the Buckeyes.

After four years with the Illini, Terry sits 10th all-time with 1,634 career kills. She currently sits between AVCA All-America honorable mention Megan Cooney and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. Terry is also fourth all-time with 164 career aces

Illinois Volleyball Career Kills Rankings

Illinois Volleyball Career Service Ace Rankings

1. Mary Eggers - 1985-88 - 180
2. Laura Bush - 1987-90 - 176
3. Taylor Kuper - 2018-21 - 173
4. Raina Terry - 2020-present - 164
5. Disa Johnson - 1984-87 - 154
6. Lorna Henderson - 1989-92 - 146
7. Tina Rogers - 1990-93 - 143
8. Chris Schwarz - 1985-88 - 141
9. Sandy Scholtens - 1985-88 - 131
10. Nancy Brookhart - 1986-89 - 122

THE TIES THAT BIND

This season, a pair of opponents will look quite familiar to members of the Illini squad. The season opener against Cincinnati puts Vivian Campbell against her former squad as the setter played for the Bearcats in 2023. Outside hitter Averie Hernandez began her career at Northwestern but joined the Orange and Blue squad this past offseason. 

SISTER, SISTER

It will be a family affair for a pair of Illini this season as the Orange and Blue face off against two teams that include current member's siblings. Averie Hernandez will face off against her sister, Sydnie, at Bowling Green during the opening weekend. Raegen Reilly will see her sister, Bergen, twice this year, with the Illini taking on Nebraska at Huff Hall on Oct. 3 and in Lincoln, Neb., on Oct. 25.

OPPONENT SCOUT

Cincinnati enters the match coming off a 2023 season in which the team posted an overall record of 12-16. In conference play, the Bearcats ended with a record of 5-13 and finished tenth in the conference standings during their inaugural Big 12 season.

Bowling Green enters the 2024 season after a 2023 campaign that featured a 19-13 record. The Falcons were able to secure a fifth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference after going 11-7 in conference play. Expectations are higher for Bowling Green in 2024, as the MAC preseason coaches poll placed the Falcons second in the conference.

ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD

Illinois has a 9-3 all-time record against Cincinnati. The last time these two teams met was in 2012, when the Fighting Illini took down the Bearcats, 3-1. This will be head coach Chris Tamas' first matchup against Cincinnati in his career. 

Against Bowling Green, Illinois holds a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series, while Chris Tamas has a 1-0 record against the Falcons in his career.

GROWING OUR FAMILLY

After losing six players from last year's squad, the Fighting Illini added eight newcomers to its 2024 team. Four freshmen joined the Illini: Kenzie Cogan, Ashlyn Philpot, Christine Pullen and Laynie Smith.

Illinois also announced the addition of four transfer students in the offseason. Raegen Reilly, Averie Hernandez, Vivian Campbell and Christina Martinez Mundo will don the Orange and Blue in 2024.

Reilly and Hernandez have ties to other Big Ten teams, with Reilly's sister, Bergen, playing for Nebraska and Hernandez transferring from Northwestern. 

JORDYN IN PARIS

Illinois volleyball alum Jordyn Poulter represented the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer. The Red, White and Blue team captain helped Team USA secure its fifth-straight medal, silver, at the Olympic Games.

The All-American setter was one of 12 selected for the Olympic roster. Eight Big Ten players made the U.S. roster for the 2024 Olympics. Poulter became the only Fighting Illini volleyball alum to make two Olympic rosters. Poulter and former Illlini All-American Michelle Barsch-Hackley helped the U.S. earn its first-ever gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Kirsten Gleis represented Holland at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, marking Poulter's addition to the U.S. squad as the fourth time a Fighting Illini alum has made an Olympic team.

During her time in the Orange and Blue, Poulter was a three-time All-American, earning first-team accolades as a senior in 2018. During her stellar senior campaign, the Colorado native was named the Big Ten Co-Setter of the Year, AVCA Northeast Region Player of the Year and a finalist for the Honda Award. Poulter also led the Illini to the program's fourth-ever NCAA National Semifinal appearance.

...READY FOR IT?

For a third straight year, Raina Terry was named to the Big Ten Preseason Team. Terry was one of 18 conference student-athletes to earn the accolade.
 

A mainstay in the Illini lineup since her first year with the program, Terry has etched her name in the Fighting Illini record book on several occasions. Terry is tied for fifth place with seven aces in a single match. She also is tied for second with eight strikes from the service line in a single match. The outside hitter's 10 matches with 20 or more kills in a single season rank seventh in the Illinois history books, with her 20 career matches with 20 or more kills earning her fifth place.

Terry is on track to earn the top spot for career aces, as she currently sits in fourth place. The graduate student already ranks in the top 10 with 1,634 kills.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2023

With Chris Tamas at the helm for his seventh season, the Fighting Illini posted a 16-14 record with a 11-9 mark in Big Ten play. For a second-straight season, Raina Terry took home All-Big Ten First Team and AVCA All-Region honors.

Illinois owned a six-match winning streak during Big Ten play, including a top-25 victory over then-No. 16 Purdue (3-1) at Huff Hall. 

In 2023, the Orange and Blue tallied double-digit roofs in 12 contests. The team's season-high 17 blocks came on two separate occasions, against Michigan State on Sept. 24 and at Maryland on Oct. 22. In matches where the Illini led opponents in blocks, Illinois owned a 13-3 record.

Illinois registered a season-best 12 service aces at Ohio State on Oct. 13 and again against the Buckeyes on Nov. 15. Individually, Brooke Mosher led the way both times, logging five aces during the four-set battle in Columbus and a career-high seven strikes from the service line at Huff Hall. 

HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS AT THE HELM

Chris Tamas enters his eighth 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 131-81 (.616), including a 80-58 (.588) 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 had multiple first-team honorees 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.