Illini Return to Huff Hall to Host Iowa State, Eastern Illinois

MATCHES 8+9

Illinois returns to Huff Hall for the first time during the 2025 season with home matches against Iowa State and Eastern Illinois. The Illini will clash with the Cyclones on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT before playing the Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

Iowa State and Eastern Illinois will play a neutral match at Huff Hall on Friday night.

LAST TIME OUT

The Illini went 2-1 at Illinois State's Linda Herman Classic last weekend, recording sweeps against Cincinnati and the host Redbirds while falling in four sets to [RV] Miami.

Against the Bearcats, Taylor de Boer led the Orange and Blue offense once again, finishing one kill shy of her career-best output with 17 on an efficient .382 clip. Alyssa Aguayo accumulated the fourth double-double of her freshman campaign with 11 kills and 10 digs, her fifth straight outing with 10+ kills. Ashlyn Philpot used a .600 hitting percentage to total seven kills.

In the Illini's four-set defeat to the Hurricanes, Aguayo notched a team-high 14 kills on a .367 hitting percentage, marking her sixth straight outing with double-digit kills to begin her collegiate career. Auburn Tomkinson registered 10 kills for her third outing in double figures this season, while Philpot recorded her third five-block effort of the campaign, ending the day with seven kills and five stuffs. Hernandez collected a season-high and team-most 12 digs.

Illinois closed the weekend with an in-state sweep against the Redbirds, with de Boer totaling a team-high 10 kills, her sixth effort in double figures this season. Aguayo and Kenna Phelan both finished just shy of recording double-doubles. Aguayo ended the afternoon with nine kills, 10 digs, a career-high four blocks, and two aces, while Phelan posted 28 assists, nine digs, a block, an ace, and a kill. Philpot collected four kills and six blocks, and Kayla Burbage bagged four kills, four blocks, and an ace.

OPPONENT SCOUT

Iowa State brings an 8-1 record and a three-match winning streak to Champaign this weekend. The Cyclones earned a five-set road victory against Iowa, its first power-conference opponent of the season, on Wednesday prior to making the trip to Huff Hall.

Saturday's opponent returns 11 players from its 2024 squad that went 10-18 overall and 4-13 in Big 12 action. The Cyclones are off to a flying start in 2025, though, entering the week ranked first nationally in kills per set (15.35) and assists per set (14.23). Freshman Alea Goolsby leads ISU with 3.52 kills/set, while senior Maya Duckworth, a Preseason All-Big 12 honoree, is second with a 2.80 kills/set average.

Iowa State is led by head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, who is in her 21st season at the helm of the program and holds a 388-220 record since being named to the position in December 2004. The 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year and two-time AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year has guided the Cyclones to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure.

After opening the season on a five-match winning streak, Eastern Illinois arrives with a 6-2 record on the year. The Panthers are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Indiana State Sycamore Classic, at which they defeated Butler though fell to both Indiana State and Montana in four sets.

EIU, picked to finish eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference's preseason poll, brings back nine players from its 2024 team that finished 9-19 overall and 5-13 in league action. Senior outside hitter Lilli Amettis was named to the 2025 OVC Watch List and leads the Panthers with a 3.55 kills/set average, while sophomore Destiny Walker is close behind at 3.52 kills per set.

Eastern Illinois is led by first-year head coach Ryan Millar, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a three-time Olympian during his playing career.

SERIES HISTORY

Illinois is 6-1 against Iowa State in the all-time series, which dates back to the programs' first meeting in 1981. The Illini most recently defeated the Cyclones on the road last season, and the Orange and Blue are the winners of the last three contests against ISU. Iowa State's last win in the series came in five sets on Sept. 1, 2012. Illinois holds a 3-1 record against Iowa State when playing in Champaign.

The in-state matchup between the Illini and the Panthers serves as the 25th meeting in the series, which Illinois leads, 20-4. In the most recent meeting, the Orange and Blue recorded a sweep on Sept. 14, 2022. The Illini boast an 11-match winning streak against EIU, with the Panthers' last victory occurring on Nov. 2, 1983.

IMMEDIATE IMPACTS

Through the first six matches of the season, freshman Alyssa Aguayo is averaging 2.81 kills, 3.22 points, 2.59 digs, and 0.44 blocks across her 27 sets of action while starting all seven matches. Also totaling four double-doubles thus far, she became the first Illini true freshman with 10+ kills in her 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 seven matches, marking the team's first freshman starter at the position since Lily Barry in 2023. Kirsch leads the Illini in digs, averaging 2.81 digs/set.

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 three matches while starting each contest thus far in her Illini career.

Kenna Phelan stepped into the Illini's starting setter spot after spending her first two seasons at Florida State. She has logged two double-doubles, is averaging 9.41 assists/set, and has at least one block in six of Illinois' seven matches despite standing at 5-foot-7.

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, having played the last two seasons at Texas and Florida State, respectively. Dzienny was an early enrollee at Florida before making her way to Champaign.

SOUND THE ALARM

Kayla Burbage announced in January that she would be returning for the 2025 season. The Swiss-Army knife of the Illini squad, Burbage played two seasons with the Illini before missing the 2024 campaign due to injury. A transfer from Missouri, Burbage saw time as an opposite in all 30 matches for Illinois in 2022, averaging 2.28 kills and 0.60 blocks per set. The following year, Burbage posted 2.10 kills and 0.47 blocks per set while playing on both pins.

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. Meredith Schamun and Hannah Hashbarger joined the team as the associate head coach and director of operations, respectively.

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.

Prior to arriving at Villanova, 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.­

Hashbarger comes to Illinois following two seasons on the Regis volleyball staff, serving as the director of operations and engagement. As the program's director of operations and engagement, Hashbarger combined her expertise in brand marketing, leadership, and program management to support the team's success.

LOOKING BACK AT 2024

The Fighting Illini saw much success during the 2024 season, owning an 18-13 overall record and a 10-10 mark in Big Ten play. The team made its return to the NCAA Tournament, falling to Northern Iowa, 3-1, in the opening round.

A key loss from last year's squad is Raina Terry, who earned AVCA All-American status at the conclusion of the season. The program's all-time leader in kills, points, and aces, Terry earned AVCA Third Team distinction, the first of its kind for the Ohio native. Terry was drafted 11th overall to the Columbus Fury, becoming the first Illini player to be selected in the Pro Volleyball Federation draft.

Not to be outshined, Ashlyn Philpot returns to the Illini following a stellar freshman campaign in 2024. The middle blocker was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team at the conclusion of the regular season. Philpot tallied 10+ kills in four Big Ten matches in her debut season, including 17 kills in a five-set triumph over No. 20 USC. The following night, she recorded 11 kills while hitting .667 against Ohio State. Such marks accompanied with nine roofs on the weekend helped Philpot earn her first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.

AS SEEN ON TV

The Illini will be featured on national television nine times this season. The team's road matches at Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota will air on Big Ten Network. The Illini's home clashes against Iowa State and Penn State will also be shown on BTN. Contests at Nebraska and UCLA will be shown 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 153-97 (.612), including a 90-68 (.560) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference, 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 No. 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. 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.