For senior Vicki Brown, the game in Toledo, Ohio, against the University of Toledo should be a fun one. Brown attended Roy C. Start High School in Toledo and earned All-City honors as both a junior and senior.

Brown is excited about the return home and expects somewhere between 50-75 family and friends to be in attendance.

“That just makes the game more fun because I know a lot of people will have a lot of things to say and just to hear the things they’ll say during the game,” Brown said. “It’s more fun than making me nervous.”

The Illini only have a two-day break before facing Toledo on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Johannah Bangert doesn’t see that as being a problem because she was used to the crammed schedule from high school.

After dismantling Southern Illinois’ defense with hard, well-placed hits and skilled passing, Illinois will look to continue the solid play Saturday, which is the final tune-up before the Big Ten schedule begins Wednesday.

Illinois head coach Don Hardin has been impressed with how much the team’s confidence has improved.

“The upperclassmen are starting to be more confident,” Hardin said. “The past two years or so kind of hurt it, but they are starting to become more confident which can be partly attributed to the freshmen.”

Hardin explained that the keys to the game will once again be solid defense and passing.

The Toledo match, which is the final nonconference match, is especially important because the Illini will welcome the No. 9 Badgers to Huff Hall on Wednesday to start the Big Ten season.

Illinois and Toledo are set to square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday.