Illinois volleyball entered Big Ten play at 5-4 in non-conference, which raised some concerns about consistency early on.
Those fears were quickly put to rest as the Illini won seven of their first eight Big Ten matches, including a shocking road win over No. 10 Purdue, plus victories over Oregon, Michigan State, Ohio State, Maryland, and Rutgers.
For a moment, it looked like the Illini were emerging as a surprise contender, but the back half of the schedule was shaping up to be pretty brutal, as they still had to face the best team in the country in Nebraska as well as six other ranked opponents.
Early indications that Illinois' run was over came the weekend before Halloween. After beating Purdue in West Lafayette a month earlier, Illinois welcomed the No. 11 Boilers to Huff Hall in a match where they were swept (19-25, 16-25,14-25). The next night, an up-and-coming Michigan team swept the Illini in a tighter match where the Orange and Blue failed to come up big in clutch moments.
From 12-5 (7-1) and the best start in the Big Ten since 2011, Illinois collapsed to 13-16. They lost 11 of their final 12 matches, seven by sweep, and winning just nine total sets during that run.
The 13-16 final record is Chris Tamas' worst full season win percentage as Illinois' coach (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign). It also marks the fourth time under Tamas that Illinois has missed the NCAA Tournament, and the third time in the last four years.
The transition between coaches has not been easy for the Illinois volleyball program
When Tamas took over for Kevin Hambly in 2017, he inherited a powerhouse program. They had made it to the Sweet Sixteen six times in eight years, including a national runner-up finish in 2011. Not to mention, they had one of the strongest fanbases outside of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Tamas got off to a hot start, making the Sweet Sixteen in year one and the Final 4 in his second year. In a game that all Illinois volleyball fans remember, the Illini were reverse-swept by Nebraska to steal a national championship bid.
2019 was a struggle, as the Illini finished just two games above .500 and were bounced in the first round of the tournament. In 2020, they finished a forgettable 7-11, and it seemed like the honeymoon with Tamas had worn off. The 2021 second-round upset of No. 7 Kentucky reinvigorated the fanbase and was a beacon of hope going forward. Since then, the program has struggled to recapture that momentum.
Since 2018, Illinois has advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament once, in 2021. The Illini have now missed the field four times in nine seasons under Tamas.
It's been discovered that Coach Tamas' contract has been extended another two years, through 2029, and the response seems to be pretty uniform amongst Illini Fans, at least on X:
In the last six seasons, Illinois volleyball:
— Jonathan Koon (@JonathanKoon1) December 1, 2025
Has missed the NCAA Tournament 4 times
Had a losing record at home 3 times
Just 8-51 (0.136) vs ranked opponents
Never finished higher than 7th in the B1G
Finished the season ranked once
Not understanding how an extension was…
His time ran its course when he couldn’t build upon the Final Four run in his 2nd season. Writing has been on the wall for a while now. This program has too good a tradition to allow it to continue to flounder any further, and I’m hoping Whitman will act sooner than later.
— David Pfenninger (@DavePfen) December 1, 2025
Josh Whitman has shown little tolerance for sustained mediocrity in his time at Illinois. He fired Lovie Smith in his fifth year, John Groce just one year into his stint as AD, and has gone through multiple women's basketball coaches. For reasons that remain unclear, volleyball appears to be the exception.
With all that being said, we can keep shaking our fists in frustration, or we can choose to rally behind this program and hope Coach Tamas can steer it back in the right direction. It seems he’ll get the opportunity. Now it’s simply a matter of what he and the program do with it.