Illini Wrap Up Homestand Against Washington, #11 Wisconsin for Stuff Huff Match

MATCHES 24&25

Illinois closes its three-match homestand with contests against both Big Ten UW schools. The Fighting Illini will play Washington on Friday at 6 p.m. before hosting a rematch against #11 Wisconsin on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.

OPPONENT SCOUT

Washington comes into Friday's contest with a 10-14 record, with the Huskies holding an in-conference record of 5-9 with wins over Ohio State, Iowa, #17 Penn State, and Oregon twice. The Huskies come into Friday's match with an away record of 3-8. 

Washington brought back eight players from a season ago while also reloading via the transfer portal and its 2025 recruiting class. Junior Kierstyn Barton is a key piece for this Washington team. After accumulating 216 kills last year, she has already made 320 kills in 2025. 

Washington got a huge win against #17 Penn State at home on Oct. 17. They have also played eight ranked teams so far this season. 

The Huskies is led by Leslie Gabriel, who took over at her alma mater in December of 2022. Gabriel played for Washington and was a dominant blocker from 1995-98, totaling 613 career blocks and earning All-Pac-10 honors. She also spent 22 years as an assistant coach (2001-22) during which the Huskies went 552-147 for a .789 win percentage.

Wisconsin rides a three-match winning streak into the weekend, with the Badgers boasting a record of 11-3 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin has big wins against #14 Kansas, #21 Georgia Tech, #15 Florida, #23 UCLA, #22 Minnesota, and #18 Indiana. The Badgers have an away record of 7-1 on the year.

After advancing to the Elite Eight in the 2024 NCAA tournament, Wisconsin brought back seven players from a season ago while also reloading via the transfer portal and its 2025 recruiting class. Two All-Big Ten honorees from 2024 returned to the Badgers with middle blocker Carter Booth and setter Charlie Fuerbringer. Fuerbringer currently has 421 assists and 108 digs.

UW's biggest addition came with senior outside hitter Mimi Colyer, who joined the Badgers after spending her first three years at Oregon. Colyer currently has 373 kills, 17 aces, 158 digs, and 53 total blocks.

Wisconsin is led by Kelly Sheffield, who is in his 13th season at the helm of the Badger program and is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.

SERIES HISTORY

Heading into the ninth all-time meeting between Illinois and Washington, the Huskies hold a 5-3 record against the Fighting Illini. 

Ahead of the 101st all-time meeting between Illinois and Wisconsin, the Badgers hold a record of 50-49-1 since the series began back in 1975. The Badgers have won the last 11 matchups, including a 3-0 win in Madison in October, with the Illini's last victory against Wisconsin coming on Dec. 8, 2018.

TOP-10 ROAD WIN

Illinois secured its first ranked victory of the year with a four-set road triumph at #10 Purdue on Sept. 28 in the team's first Big Ten road match of the season.

In front of a hostile crowd at Mackey Arena, the Orange and Blue's victory marked their first triumph over a top-10 opponent since 2021, while the Illini improved to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2022.

Ashlyn Philpot collected 12 kills, including the final point of the afternoon to seal the victory. Hitting at a .429 clip, she also notched four blocks and accounted for the Illini's final three kills of the day. 

Alyssa Aguayo and Auburn Tomkinson also ended the afternoon with double-digit kills. Aguayo amassed 11 kills, five digs, four assists, and a block, while Tomkinson tallied 11 kills and added a career-high five blocks and a dig.

Taylor de Boer led the Illini in kills once again, finishing with 17. She also logged a block and a dig.

Defensively, Taryn Kirsch totaled a career-high 21 digs alongside her five assists, while Kenna Phelan posted her fourth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 10 digs.

HARRIS, MILES SIGN WITH ILLINI IN 2026

Illinois head coach Chris Tamas announced two additions to the Fighting Illini's 2026 signing class. Maya Harris and Madi Miles both signed Big Ten Athletics Aid Agreements on Wednesday.

"Both Madi and Maya have been exceptional for their school and club teams, playing at the highest level," Tamas said. "They have a strong competitive spirit and the skills to back it up. We are excited to add them as official members of the Fighting Illini."

A 2025 AVCA All-Region honoree, Harris is an outside hitter from Angola, Indiana, and ranked fourth in the nation in aces (177) in 2025.

Miles is an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, who is ranked #97 overall and the #40 OH in the Class of 2026 by Prep Dig.

DE BOER WINS 2025 ATHLETESCAN TRUE SPORT AWARD

Illinois redshirt sophomore Taylor de Boer was recognized at the 2025 Canadian Sport Awards as this year's recipient of the AthletesCAN True Sport Award.

The True Sport Award recognizes an inspirational Canadian citizen who exemplifies true sport values of fairness, excellence, inclusion, and fun in a meaningful way. Through the pursuit of sporting excellence this Canadian hero showcases dedication, perseverance, sportsmanship, respect for others, and a true love of sport.

A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, de Boer was honored for her perseverance and resilience throughout her battle with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys, joints, lungs, and other small vessels. Diagnosed prior to her first season with the Fighting Illini in 2023, de Boer had just returned from being a team captain for Canada's U19 team at the Pan American Cup.

Only 17 years old at the time of her diagnosis in the summer of 2023, she spent the next month in critical care at the OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois in Peoria. She used her time in the hospital to get involved with Uplifting Athletes, which raises awareness and funds for rare diseases. Continuing her work as she continued her treatment and recovery, she was tabbed a Rare Disease Champion by the organization.

Other finalists for this year's award included Eric Furtado-Rodrigues (Wheelchair Rugby) and Ruby Stevens (Para Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby).

PHELAN GOOD

Kenna Phelan was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on Sept. 29 after leading the Fighting Illini to a 2-0 week with wins against [RV] Oregon and at #10 Purdue.

Phelan averaged 9.4 assists/set and 2.4 digs/set over the course of the two-match weekend, totaling 66 assists, 17 digs, two kills, two aces, and a block. She tallied 27 assists while making seven digs and tacking on an ace and a block in the Illini's against the Ducks. Two days later, in her first career Big Ten road match, Phelan recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 10 digs against the #10-ranked Boilermakers. She also added two kills and an ace as the Orange and Blue earned their first top-10 victory since 2021.

She became the first Illini to secure Big Ten Setter of the Week honors since Diana Brown in 2021.

IMMEDIATE IMPACTS

Freshman Alyssa Aguayo averaged 2.79 kills, 3.21 points, 2.24 digs, and 0.35 blocks per set across her 84 sets of action while starting all 23 matches. Also totaling eight double-doubles thus far, she became the first Illini true freshman with 10+ kills in their first six collegiate matches since 2016, when Jacqueline Quade also had 10+ kills in her first six matches.

Fellow freshman Taryn Kirsch has donned the libero jersey across the Illini's first 23 matches, marking the team's first freshman starter at the position since 2023. Kirsch leads the Illini in digs, averaging 3.06 digs/set, and set a career-high with 21 digs in the Illini's four-set win at #10 Purdue.

Auburn Tomkinson, a redshirt sophomore, has made an immediate impact at Illinois after transferring from Texas, where she spent her first two seasons but did not play. The California native has 10+ kills in eight matches, including a career-high 17 kills at Maryland on Oct. 10.

Kenna Phelan stepped into the Illini's starting setter spot after playing her first two seasons at Florida State. She has logged six double-doubles and is averaging a career-best 9.71 assists/set. With her 43 assists and 21 digs at Ohio State, Phelan became the first Illini with a 40-assist, 20-dig double-double since 2017.

FINE NINE

The Illinois volleyball team added nine newcomers for the 2025 season. Auburn Tomkinson, Taryn Kirsch, Devin Dzienny, Gabriella Pitcel, Kenna Phelan, Sophi Randall, Alyssa Aguayo, Ava Wysocki, and Lara Žigic all joined the roster during the offseason. Tomkinson and Phelan have previous collegiate experience at Texas and Florida State, respectively. Dzienny was an early enrollee at Florida before moving to Champaign.

OH, CANADA

Redshirt sophomore Taylor de Boer represented her home country of Canada at both the U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup and the Senior Pan American Cup in Mexico over the summer.

De Boer and Canada claimed the silver medal at the U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup. The U23 Canadian team, making its first-ever appearance in the Women's U23 Pan American Cup final, fell to the United States in the final. The team's second-place finish was Canada's best ever in the competition, and it also served as the squad's first-ever medal.

LAND OF LINCOLN

The Illini squad features four players from the state of Illinois. Bianca May (Orland Park), Averie Hernandez (Bloomington), Vivian Campbell (Oswego), and Ava Wysocki (Kildeer) all hail from the Land of Lincoln.

NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES

The Fighting Illini saw changes to head coach Chris Tamas' staff in 2025 with the addition of Meredith Schamun as the team's associate head coach.

Schamun joins the Illini following a four-year head coaching stint at Penn, most recently guiding the Quakers to a successful 13-10 campaign with an 7-7 Ivy League record in 2024. The season included the Quakers' first win over rival Princeton since 2015 and their first victory over Brown since 2019. Following the season, a pair of Schamun's players received All-Ivy recognition.

Schamun came to Penn from Villanova, where she helped the Wildcats to a 39-23 record in two seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Schamun assisted Villanova to a pair of Big East Tournament appearances and a combined 23-13 record in league play. In 2019, the Wildcats were 22-9 overall and 13-5 in the Big East. That year, she guided the Wildcat offense to finish second in the league in hitting percentage and trained Villanova's all-time assist leader.

Schamun spent two seasons at Tulane as an assistant coach, helping the Green Wave to the highest RPI jump in the nation (157 spots) in 2016. Tulane had its first winning season in three years and finished fifth in the American Athletic Conference with Schamun on the sideline. From 2014-15, Schamun was the director of volleyball operations at UCF, helping organize travel, scheduling, and recruiting for the Knights, who won the conference title and reached the NCAA Championship field in 2014.

A highly decorated setter at Rice University, Schamun was a four-year starter for the Owls. The Conference USA Setter of the Year in 2009, Schamun was a Conference USA Championship MVP, two-time All-C-USA First Team, AVCA All-Region, and AVCA All-America honorable mention selection. She helped lead the Owls to a conference championship and two NCAA Championship berths, and finished her career as Rice's all-time leader in assists with 5,190.­

AS SEEN ON TV

The Illini will be featured on national television 10 times this season. The team's road matches at Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota all aired on Big Ten Network. The Illini's home clashes against Iowa State, Penn State, and Indiana will also be shown on BTN. Contests at Nebraska and UCLA will be played on FS1. The inaugural Broadway Block Party match against Vanderbilt aired on SEC Network, while Illinois battled #3 Louisville on the road on ESPN.

HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS AT THE HELM

The eighth head coach in Illinois history, Tamas has made an impressive impact on Illinois volleyball and owns an overall record of 161-105 (.605), including a 97-75 (.564) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten, as well as five NCAA Tournament appearances, including three NCAA Regional appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2018. 

Tamas 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 #7 seed Kentucky in Lexington. His 150th career victory came against Vanderbilt at the Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party on Aug. 31.

Illinois experienced one of its most successful seasons ever in 2018 under Tamas, who was subsequently named AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. 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.