Nearly five years ago, while living in Lithuania, outside hitter Rasa Virsilaite signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball for the University of Illinois. Virsilaite had never been to the United States before and was completely unaware of the future that lay ahead.

Fast forward to 2005, where Virsilaite is now one of only two seniors on the Illini volleyball team and, along with fellow senior Rachel VanMeter, is trying to lead Illinois to its first conference title since 1992.

“I had always wanted to play in America, and I got Don’s (head coach Don Hardin) email address, so I emailed him and sent him a tape of me,” Virsilaite said. “I told him I was playing in a beach volleyball tournament in Canada, and he came up and saw me play and decided to offer me a scholarship.”

VanMeter, on the other hand, was born and raised in the South, and decided on Illinois because of the level of play.

“Not a lot of players come out of the South, and the game isn’t as big down there. The SEC is a great conference, but it doesn’t have a big game every night like we have here.”

A lot has changed for the duo since their freshmen seasons in 2002. While both served as role players that first season, VanMeter moved into the starting lineup the following year, while Virsilaite began starting in 2004.

VanMeter has since developed into one of the best outside hitters in the Big Ten and is currently second in the nation, averaging 5.96 kills per game. Virsilaite is currently sidelined with a broken finger but has also become a multi-talented front line player and has started at outside hitter and middle blocker.

Hardin believes both players have grown exponentially since they were freshmen.

“They’ve grown up together, and they went from easily distracted freshmen to a pair of seniors focused on their goals,” he said.

That experience has been huge for the Illini this season, who have withstood a barrage of injuries en route to a 10-3 start.

“It’s tough when you lose people,” Virsilaite said, “but it’s not an excuse. We try to use it as motivation.”

In their win on Saturday at No. 16 Ohio State, VanMeter shrugged off the injury talk and recorded 25 kills as the Illini upset the Buckeyes in five games.

“We live and die off our seniors and their emotions,” Hardin said. “We can look lost without them, and they were great against Ohio State.”

Virsilaite is expected back into the starting lineup tomorrow night against Northwestern but will only be able to play the back row. Hardin expects her to move up to the front row in a couple of weeks.

“She’s going to play back row, but we can’t move her up front for a while,” he said. “Hopefully, when she moves up and some of the other girls come back, we can get going.”

Virsilaite and VanMeter are much more humble but know what the team is capable of.

“We have a lot of good players,” VanMeter said. “If we do in games what we’ve trained to do in practice, we’ll win matches.”

After a 13-win season as freshmen in 2002, the Illini rebounded to go 26-7 and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2003, VanMeter and Virsilaite’s sophomore year.

As upperclassmen, the expectations of the team grew to be even higher in 2004. After a five-set win over No. 1-ranked USC at Huff Hall in September, the team appeared to be poised to battle for the Big Ten title. But, similar to this season, injuries claimed several of Illinois’ key players, and they finished 19-11.

“Last year was tough, but we don’t really think about that,” Virsilaite said. “This is a new year and we have to look at it like that.”

After four years of dedication, both girls want to go out on top.

“When its your senior year, or any year, you want to go out with a winning record and a Big Ten Championship,” VanMeter said. “But you also want to go out and enjoy what you’ve had and enjoy the experience.”