The volleyball team hopes to end a two-game skid this weekend and get back on track as it faces Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday and Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday.

Last weekend, freshman middle blocker Rachel Henderson returned to the lineup, and senior outside hitter Rasa Virsilaite, who was out with a broken pinky finger, was cleared to play but restricted to the back row. The Illini still fell to 1-3 in the Big Ten, losing to Northwestern in five games and No. 8 Wisconsin in three.

Although the Illini lost the first two games Henderson and Virsilaite were back, head coach Don Hardin said they really contribute to the team.

“Rachel is a smart player,” Hardin said. “She keeps her composure and does some smart things. Rasa is one of our best passers and if we don’t have her receiving serve, we’re in a lot of trouble. When she can only play back row, she can only receive serve for half the rotations and the other half of the rotations get (us) in trouble.”

Even though the Illini returned two players to the lineup over the weekend, the team is still reeling with injuries. Sophomore middle blocker Jen Hynds, freshman defensive specialist Jana Wojcik and junior middle blocker Meggan Griffin are all out with injuries and will not play for the rest of the season.

“If you take five people out of the Michigan lineup, we win easily,” Hardin said. “You take five people out of our lineup and they win. It’s getting people back and showing that we can receive serve – that’ll get us back on track.”

Senior outside hitter Rachel VanMeter seems to be picking up the slack for the three players missing from the lineup. Through the first 16 games of the season, VanMeter ranks third in the nation in kills with 5.71 per game and leads the Big Ten.

VanMeter and the rest of the Illini will have to be on their game, because Michigan could be on its way up in the conference, returning six starters from last year and losing only three seniors.

The Wolverines are 8-5 overall this year, with three of those five losses coming from ranked opponents – No. 1 Nebraska, No. 9 Minnesota and No. 24 Long Beach State. Thus far this season, Michigan is unbeaten at home.

In order for the Illini to change that this weekend, Hardin said his team must receive serve better, a skill that the team has been lacking in prior weeks.

“We need consistent serve receive and that just wasn’t going to happen with all those people out of the lineup,” Hardin said. “The number one thing is consistency right now.”

Both Michigan and Michigan State placed in the bottom half of the Big Ten last season as the Wolverines tied for sixth with a 9-11 record and the Spartans finished eighth with a 7-13 conference record.

Although Michigan and Michigan State have not been in the top tier of the Big Ten in recent years, Hardin said any team in the conference is capable of pulling off an upset.

“I think it’s fair to say that neither team will challenge for the conference title,” Hardin said. “But on a given night in the Big Ten, any team can play differently and be outstanding.”