I wrote a column earlier this year stating how much of an indicator the loss against then-No. 2 Stanford had on the Illinois volleyball team.

I said that even though the Illini lost in the fifth set, the match demonstrated how talented  a team the University has this year. It was a tough loss, but I was confident that the team would learn from the loss and would be able to dominate against their competition in the next few weeks.

Unlike my usual predictions, that  is exactly what happened.

Since the losses to UCLA and Stanford, the Illini have won seven of their last eight games and six matches in a row, with the only loss coming to Virginia Tech. I can’t be too pleased with my prediction, because Illinois hasn’t faced any ranked teams in this span. But they are coming off wins against the two newcomers in the Big Ten: Maryland and Rutgers. 

Of these seven victories, five of them were 3-0 sweeps and none of them were within a set, meaning that the worst the team did over this stretch was 3-1 victories.

The No. 16 Illini are now completely entrenched in their Big Ten schedule with matches against Wisconsin and Ohio State and are primed to keep the success rolling. 

Jocelynn Birks was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday and has been a key component to the Illini’s run. Against Maryland and Rutgers, she showed that she can be the difference-maker that the team needs with a combined 27 kills and a .404 hitting percentage. 

As an avid watcher of the team last year, I thought the team struggled to take control in key parts of games. This has been different early this season and has given me confidence that they will be able to make a longer run at the end of the year than they did last year.

Brandi Donnelly was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week during this stretch and has also been a prime part of the Illinois winning period. Liz McMahon has also been a crucial part of the team’s victories and has also provided the extra leadership that they need.

It was tough to watch the Illini fall in such a close match to Stanford, but it showed how much promise the team had for the upcoming season. It isn’t wise to be too optimistic at this point considering the Illini have only played two ranked teams all season, but heading into Big Ten play, the team is poised to keep the wins rolling in.

Unlike last season, Birks and the Illini are poised to take this team to the next level continuing the season long into the postseason.

Kieran is a sophomore in Business. He can be reached at [email protected].