Having spent the last several weeks practicing and watching game film in Huff Hall, the Illini volleyball team will finally see if all its hard work has paid off when they hit the court tonight in their season opener at Illinois State.

The game will be the first of two scheduled non-conference matches for the Illini, who will also play in tournaments at Northern Illinois and UNLV before hosting the State Farm Illini Classic on Sept. 16 and 17 at Huff Hall.

Illinois head coach Don Hardin hopes his Illini come out firing on all cylinders but knows the Redbirds will be well prepared.

“I would say they (Illinois State) have an advantage going into the match because of their level of experience,” he said. “And you can bet they’ve been gearing up for this match, and that they’re really working to get ready.”

Last year, the Illini beat the Redbirds 30-21, 30-19 and 30-20 in the season opener on Sept. 1st at Huff Hall.

Outside hitter Rachel VanMeter led the Illini with 20 kills in the match, while Jessica Belter added 10 and Jen Hynds and Meghan Macdonald chipped in with eight and seven, respectively.

Belter has since graduated and Hynds is currently sidelined with a broken ankle, but VanMeter and Macdonald will both be in tonight’s starting lineup.

“ISU is always a fun match,” said VanMeter. “It’s an in-state rival that’s not from the Big Ten. I know they get really geared up (for the match), and we do too.”

The Illini newcomers are also excited to get the season started.

“I’m definitely really excited,” said freshman middle blocker Rachel Henderson. “It’s my first college game, and it should be awesome.”

But until Hynds is back and the team returns to full strength, Hardin expects to play many different styles – especially against the Redbirds.

“We’re still working back to full strength, but we’re not there yet,” he said. “We’re going to check out some things and put some people out there on the court to check out what our weaknesses are.”

After going 19-11 last season, Hardin believes this team has the ability to be one of the best he’s ever coached in his 10 seasons at Illinois, but does not expect the team to hit full stride until they finally put everything together in the next few weeks.

Hardin hasn’t even had time to scout the Redbirds.

“We have so much work to do on ourselves that a scouting report would almost pull us away from the things we need to focus on to play well.”