University of Illinois
Michigan State
Illinois Volleyball Begins Homestand With Ranked Matchup vs. #22 Michigan State
October 14, 2026 | Volleyball
PREVIEW
| Match 18 // Illinois Set for Thursday Night Showdown Against the Spartans | |
|---|---|
| Match 18: #22 Michigan State | Thursday, Oct. 15 | 6 p.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | Big Ten Network | Radio | Live Stats |
| Buy Tickets | #22 Michigan State |
| Rosters | Illinois | Michigan State |
| Printable Notes | Illinois |
| Series History |
Michigan State: ILL leads, 58-28; Last Match: ILL won, 3-2, on 10/5/2025; Streak: W9 |
| Fan Guide | Fan Guide for Attending Home Volleyball Matches |
| Parking | Map |
| New in 2026 |
Team Runout: The team will now run out of the northeast doors of Huff Hall, running in front of the north bleachers before turning left and running along the length of the west bleachers. Post-Match Autographs/Photos: Following all Illinois home wins, Fighting Illini student-athletes will sign autographs and take photos with fans in front of the west bleachers. |
| Promotions |
Michigan State |
| Shop Illini Gear | Online Store |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois returns to Huff Hall for a two-match homestand during the fourth week of Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini will first battle #22 Michigan State on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT before squaring off with Michigan on Sunday afternoon.
Action between the Fighting Illini and the Spartans will air nationally on Big Ten Network.
LAST TIME OUT
#24 Illinois battled from start to finish but ultimately fell short in a back-and-forth five-set road defeat at #16 Purdue on Sunday night.
The Fighting Illini won the first and third frames and cut a late deficit to a single point in the fifth as the Orange and Blue moved to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play.
Four players finished with double-digit kills, including three Illini with 15. Madi Miles and Kristina Starostenko both finished with a career-high 15 kills, while Alyssa Aguayo tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs. Paityn Chapman posted a double-double of her own with 12 kills and 14 digs.
Defensively, Talita Goncalves totaled a team-best 25 digs, while Maya Harris had 10 digs of her own. Kenna Phelan dished out 52 assists and added nine digs, a season-high four blocks, and three kills.
OPPONENT SCOUT
The #22-ranked Michigan State Spartans bring a 14-2 record with them to Champaign on Thursday night. After posting a 10-0 nonconference slate, the Spartans have gotten off to a 4-2 start in Big Ten play, including a ranked win over #14 Penn State in four sets. Michigan State split their last two matches, falling to #13 Oregon before bouncing back with a four-set win over Iowa.
Michigan State brings back 10 players from last year's squad while adding six transfers and three freshmen. Returning setter Malayah Long has tallied 550 assists (10.0 assists/set) this year and also leads the team with 26 aces, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Among the transfers, senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston leads the offense with 3.52 kills/set, which is good for 10th in the conference, while middle blocker Zora Hardison is averaging 1.93 kills/set and 1.22 blocks/set.
The Spartans are coached by Kristen Kelsay, who is in her second season as the head coach at her alma mater. In Kelsay's first season, MSU went 18-12, marking the program's most wins in a season since 2017. Last year, the Spartans had their most kills, assists, and aces per set since 2017. Kelsay has a career head coaching record of 32-14.
SERIES HISTORY
The Fighting Illini hold a 58-28 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State. This includes a nine-match winning streak for the Illini, with Illinois winning in five sets in the lone matchup between the sides in 2025. The Orange and Blue are 29-9 when playing the Spartans in Champaign.
ILLINOIS RETURNS TO THE AVCA RANKINGS
The Fighting Illini checked in at #24 in the Oct. 5 AVCA Coaches Poll, the program's first appearance in the rankings since 2022.
One of a conference-record 10 Big Ten teams represented in last week's AVCA poll, the Orange and Blue started Big Ten play with three consecutive ranked victories. Illinois first defeated #15 Minnesota at Huff Hall on Sept. 24 before sweeping #23 USC two days later on Sept. 26. The Illini's road win over the Huskies marked the team's third ranked victory in eight days.
ILLINI EARN RANKED ROAD WIN AT #22 WASHINGTON
Illinois continued its winning ways with its third straight ranked victory, sweeping #22 Washington on the road in Seattle on Oct. 2.
Four Fighting Illini finished with double-digit digs, while three players posted 10 kills as the Orange and Blue extended their winning streak to seven and secured their third ranked win in the last eight days.
Three Illini recorded double-doubles, including a 10-kill, 17-dig outing for Paityn Chapman. She also added two aces and two blocks.
Kenna Phelan finished with 36 assists and 16 digs, while Alyssa Aguayo amassed 10 kills and 11 digs.
Kristina Starostenko collected 10 kills and six blocks while swinging at a .643 clip, while Taylor de Boer tallied eight kills and a career-high six blocks.
Talita Goncalves totaled 13 digs and three assists, and Maya Harris added nine digs and three aces.
ILLINI OPEN B1G PLAY WITH TWO RANKED WINS
Illinois started conference play with a statement, defeating #15 Minnesota on Sept. 24 and #23 USC on Sept. 26 during the opening weekend of Big Ten action.
Against the Golden Gophers, Paityn Chapman led the Illini offense with a team-most 15 kills to go alongside nine digs, three blocks, and an ace. Taylor de Boer totaled 11 kills and a block, while Kristina Starostenko collected eight kills and four blocks.
Kenna Phelan secured her fourth double-double of the season with 37 assists, 10 digs, and two kills. Talita Goncalves finished with a team-best 19 digs, while Alyssa Aguayo amassed 11 digs, three kills, and a block.
Ashlyn Philpot logged seven kills and three total blocks, including a solo stuff. Maya Harris added four digs, two kills, and two aces.
Illinois' win against #23 USC saw the Illini secure ranked victories in consecutive matches for the first time since 2019.
Aguayo led the Illini with 18 kills, tying her career-best mark while hitting at a whopping .500 clip and adding eight digs, two blocks, and an ace. She posted just one error on 34 swings.
Starostenko collected seven kills and two blocks, while Philpot finished with six kills and four total stuffs.
Chapman posted five kills, four blocks, and a team-high 15 digs, while Goncalves tallied 13 digs of her own. Phelan ended the night with 36 assists, nine digs, two kills, and an ace.
De Boer recorded the 500th kill of her collegiate career during the contest, while Harris had seven digs and a kill.
GONÇALVES, PHELAN WIN B1G WEEKLY AWARDS
Fighting Illini senior setter Kenna Phelan and sophomore libero/defensive specialist Talita Goncalves were both honored with Big Ten weekly awards following the opening week of conference play, the conference office announced on Sept. 28.
Phelan was named Big Ten Setter of the Week for the first time this season and for the second time in her career, while Goncalves was tabbed with Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time. The Illini duo received the recognition following Illinois' ranked wins over #15 Minnesota on Sept. 24 and #23 USC on Sept. 26.
Across the two matches, Phelan averaged 10.43 assists/set, 2.71 digs/set, and 0.57 kills/set while leading the Orange and Blue offense to a .266 hitting percentage, which ranked fifth in the conference last week.
Phelan started the week with a double-double against the Golden Gophers, recording 37 assists, 10 digs, two kills, and a block in the four-set win while playing all six rotations. Against the Women of Troy, Phelan guided Illinois to a .301 hitting percentage while collecting 36 assists, nine digs, two kills, and an ace.
Goncalves served as the Illini's lone libero during the two matches and helped limit Illinois' two opponents to a .219 hitting percentage. She averaged 4.57 digs/set and 0.86 assists/set in seven sets of action.
She started the week with a team-high 19 digs against Minnesota while adding three assists and an ace. Two days later against the Trojans, Goncalves tallied 13 digs, three assists, and an ace to go alongside a perfect 1.000 reception percentage on 13 total attempts.
Phelan last captured Big Ten Setter of the Week honors on Sept. 29, 2025, while Goncalves is the Illini's first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honoree since 2021.
This marked the first time two Fighting Illini players have been recognized with Big Ten weekly awards in the same week since Oct. 7, 2019, when Diana Brown (Freshman of the Week) and Ashlyn Fleming (Defensive Player of the Week) were both honored.
2026 NONCONFERENCE IN REVIEW
The Fighting Illini went 8-3 during nonconference play in 2026, which included a 3-1 mark at home and a 3-2 record in true road matches.
Illinois secured its first win of the season on Aug. 30 with a sweep over Syracuse and went 2-0 at the Rice Invitational with straight-set victories over McNeese State and [RV] Rice.
Defeating Lindenwood in straight sets on Sept. 9, Illinois then split its home-and-home series with Marquette. The Illini posted three wins in the final week of nonconference action with a road victory over Eastern Illinois and back-to-back sweeps against Arkansas and Arkansas State (Sept. 19-20) at the Arkansas State Invitational.
ILLINOIS EARNS FIVE-SET WIN OVER MARQUETTE
Illinois secured a hard-fought five-set win over Marquette on Sept. 13 at Huff Hall.
The Fighting Illini used a 7-0 run late in the fifth set to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point lead.
Illinois recorded 73 kills, its most in a match since 2019, and 86 digs, its most since 2021. Five players finished with double-digit kills, while Talita Gonçalves accounted for 26 digs, the most by an Illini since 2024.
ILLINI RECORD RESOUNDING ROAD WIN AT RICE
Illinois closed its weekend in Houston with a resounding road sweep over Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse on Sept. 6.
The Fighting Illini hit .494 as a team, their most efficient percentage since 2018, while securing their second sweep in as many days.
NEW TO THE ORANGE AND BLUE
The Fighting Illini squad brought in six new student-athletes to the squad ahead of the 2026 season, including three from the transfer portal.
Junior opposite Paityn Chapman joined the team from Tennessee in January, while fifth-year middle blocker Lindsay Oldendorf returned to her home state after spending her first four seasons at San Francisco and Northern Iowa. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Talita Goncalves signed with the Illini in May after playing at San José State as a freshman.
Kristina Starostenko, a junior middle blocker from Ukraine, enters her first year at Illinois, while a pair of freshmen outside hitters from Indiana – Maya Harris and Madi Miles – are set for their first collegiate campaigns in Champaign.
TAMAS EXTENDS CONTRACT THROUGH 2028 SEASON
Head coach Chris Tamas signed a contract extension that will run through the 2028-29 academic year, which was announced on Aug. 1.
Tamas enters his 10th campaign as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2026 after being named to the position in February 2017. During his time at the helm of the program, Tamas owns an overall record of 173-116 (.599), including a 101-83 (.549) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference. He also has guided the Fighting Illini to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including three NCAA Regional appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2018, while he has led the Orange and Blue to 10+ conference wins in seven of his nine seasons thus far.
Tamas earned his 150th career head coaching win when the Illini defeated Vanderbilt at the Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party on Aug. 31, 2025. Illinois' ranked road win on Sept. 28, 2025, at No. 10 Purdue marked the program's highest-ranked road victory since 2021.
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.
LAND OF LINCOLN
The Illini squad features three players from the state of Illinois. Vivian Campbell (Oswego), Lindsay Oldendorf (Homer Glen), and Ava Wysocki (Kildeer) all hail from the Land of Lincoln.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SET TO DEBUT IN 2026
The Big Ten Conference will usher in a new era of collegiate volleyball this fall with the launch of its inaugural tournament Nov. 20-25, 2026, at Fishers Event Center, home of Major League Volleyball's Indy Ignite.
The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament, bringing the nation's premier volleyball programs together in one venue for the first time.
The Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format to account for the tournament.
