Illinois volleyball announces arrival with two huge ranked Big Ten wins

Illinois volleyball was picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten this preseason, behind both Minnesota (fifth) and USC (seventh). One weekend into conference play, they've already beaten them both.

The Illini knocked off No. 15 Minnesota in four sets on Thursday night, then swept No. 23 USC on Saturday, giving the Orange and Blue ranked wins in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2019. Illinois now sits at 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, riding a six-match winning streak, its longest since starting 6-0 in 2024.

Thursday: Illinois 3 - 1 #15 Minnesota (25-22, 14-25, 25-18, 25-22)

Minnesota had owned this series for nearly a decade, winning 11 straight meetings. Illinois' last win over the Gophers came back in 2017. That streak ended Thursday at Huff Hall.

Minnesota beat themselves in the first set, committing seven hitting errors and missing six serves in that frame alone. They turned it around quickly, looking much more like a top-15 team in the second, winning 25-14 behind four blocks, four aces, and a .355 hitting clip.

That's when Paityn Chapman took over. The Tennessee transfer recorded eight of her team-high 15 kills in the third set. According to The News Gazette, Chapman said after the match that head coach Chris Tamas came to her with a simple message: "Paityn, the middle blocker is late. Just freaking swing at it," and she did, leading the Illini to a comfortable third set victory, 25-18.

The fourth set, much like the first set, came down to the wire. Minnesota strung together five straight points to go up 22-21, looking to force a fifth set; however, Illinois answered with the last four points of the set and match. It was freshman Maya Harris at the service line for the final three points.

Chapman finished with 15 kills, nine digs, and three blocks on a career-high 48 swings. Taylor de Boer added 11 kills for her fifth straight double-digit match. Kristina Starostenko had eight kills and a team-high four blocks, and Ashlyn Philpot chipped in seven kills and three blocks.

Kenna Phelan recorded her fourth double-double with 37 assists and 10 digs, while Talita Goncalves led the team with 19 digs of her own, anchoring the backcourt for the Orange and Blue. It was her third match this season with at least 19 digs.

Minnesota actually outkilled Illinois 57-48, and Mckenna Wucherer led all attackers with 18 kills. The Gopher's achilles heel in this match was the 25 attack errors they committed, leading to a .215 hitting percentage, their lowest mark of the young season.

Tamas said afterward the goal was to keep the Gophers off the net and out of system as much as possible, and to cash in when they misfired.

It was Illinois' first ranked win of the season, and first since beating No. 10 Purdue on the road last September. It is also the Illini's first over a ranked opponent at Huff Hall since beating No. 20 USC in November 2024. According to the News-Gazette, Harris said after the match that the team felt as if they had nothing to lose and embraced coming in as the underdogs.

Saturday: Illinois 3 - 0 #23 USC (25-21, 25-23, 25-21)

Two nights after Chapman carried the offense, she finished with just five kills against USC. Illinois swept the ranked Trojans anyway, which might say more about this group than anything that happened Thursday.

Alyssa Aguayo made up the difference. She tied her career high with 18 kills and hit .500, committing just one error on 34 swings. An unbelievable performance for the sophomore outside. Chapman found other ways to contribute, leading the team with 15 digs and adding four blocks.

Illinois won the three sets by a combined 10 points. USC kept it close all night, leading multiple times in the first set. A couple of three-point runs gave the Illini the advantage.

The second set final score is a bit deceiving, as this set was the one Illinois controlled the most until the Trojans pulled within one at 24-23. Philpot terminated the third set-point to take a 2-0 lead. USC led the third set 20-19 before Illinois went on a 6-1 run to seal the deal and take the match in straight sets.

Illinois hit .301 as a team compared to USC's .224 and also won the dig battle 54-46. Philpot had six kills and four blocks, Starostenko added seven kills, Phelan dished out 36 assists, and Goncalves posted a perfect reception percentage, going 13-for-13. De Boer recorded the 500th kill of her college career.

The sweep was Illinois' first over a ranked opponent since December 2018, when the Illini swept No. 15 Marquette in the NCAA Tournament. It also gave Illinois a 5-4 lead in the all-time season series with USC, which still has yet to win at Huff Hall. It was also Coach Tamas' 100th Big Ten win as Illinois' head coach.

Weekly Honors

The Big Ten recognized two Illini on Monday. Phelan was named Big Ten Setter of the Week for the second time in her career after averaging 10.43 assists per set across the two matches. Goncalves earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, becoming Illinois' first winner of that award since 2021.

She anchored an Illinois defense that held two ranked opponents to a combined .219 hitting percentage. It's the first time two Illinois players have won Big Ten weekly awards in the same week since 2019.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow