The Illinois volleyball program scheduled two ranked opponents in its opening weekend at Huff Hall to test the team’s depth early on. After the team opens its regular season in a match against North Carolina on Friday, the Illini will take on No. 23 New Mexico State and No. 11 Oregon on Saturday.

“We’re geared up for it. I think it is good preparation for the Big Ten,” said senior outside hitter Kayani Turner. “If you start out with an easy schedule, you’re not preparing for the matches you’re going to be playing later in the season. We’re the underdog and we always love being the underdogs because no one really expects anything.”

Stuff Huff will open the weekend’s festivities on Friday, featuring a barbecue and an appearance by the Illini men’s basketball team and head coach Bruce Weber.

“Any students who show up are going to have a blast,” volleyball head coach Don Hardin said about the event.

Following the festivities, the team will take on North Carolina. The game promises to be a treat for fans and athletes alike.

“This gym, when it is packed with several thousand students, it’s crazy,” Hardin said. “And it is (the team’s) chance to connect. Especially the freshman class, it’s their chance to connect with the band and the athletic events and learn all the fun traditions that go on here.”

The Tar Heels wrapped up the 2007 season with a record of 15-16 and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. But they return the majority of last year’s starters and have been picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“We are returning a number of players from last year, but we are still a young team that will be developing early in the season,” UNC head coach Joe Sagula said. “We’ll see how we do as the season progresses.”

Returning senior starters for North Carolina include Stephanie Jansma (setter), Brianna Eskola (libero) and Lauren Prussing (outside hitter). Eskola paces the Tar Heels defensively and is only 368 digs short of the ACC career record.

“We are expecting those three seniors to be leaders and play like veterans on the court,” Sagula said. “We also expect our young talent to add depth to the team.”

On Saturday, the Fighting Illini will face off against a pair of ranked opponents in Oregon and New Mexico State.

“We don’t know how good we are yet, so mixing it up with these teams is going to say a lot,” Hardin said. “We purposely scheduled some of the toughest opponents we could find. The goal here is to come out of these first two weekends of play with a real clear understanding of what it is we need to work on and what we are good at.”

The Aggies are up first on Saturday, and with a 26-6 record in 2007 and All-American middle blocker Amber Simpson returning, the team looks strong.

“We return a lot of players from last year’s team, but we graduated four seniors – two of whom were starters,” Aggies head coach Mike Jordan said. “We’re going to have a different look.”

No. 11 Oregon will be waiting for the Illini in their second match of the day.

In 2007, the Ducks tallied a 22-11 record and reached the NCAA Sweet 16, despite being hampered by injuries. The team returns nearly everyone from last season’s squad and head coach Jim Moore feels there are more players in his lineup who are ready to step up.

The team returns six starters and ten letter-winners from 2007, including All-American senior outside hitter Gorana Maricic. The Serbian led the Pac-10 in kills per game with 5.50 in 2007, ranking fourth nationally.

“Oregon is the most experienced team on paper, but each team is returning a core of outstanding talent and looks to be strong competition,” Sagula said.

The Orange and Blue are not intimidated by facing ranked opponents. They view it as an opportunity to assess their ability.

“I think that it’s great, actually,” sophomore setter Hillary Haen said. “If we win, it’s going to be even better, and if we lose at least we know that we are getting better playing really good teams.”

Illinois will be playing with some added expectations this season.

In the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Coaches poll, Illinois garnered 45 votes from the 60 member panel.

But the team is avoiding reading too much into preseason expectations.

“I try not to listen to any of that because in the end it almost never matters,” Haen said. “Sure it’s exciting and I think it has excited some of the girls, but the whole team has talked about not looking too much into any of those things because they don’t mean that much.”

Instead, the Fighting Illini are focused on improving themselves and living up to their own expectations.

“I’m looking for new stars to emerge,” Hardin said. “That’s what we’re trying to discover. We want to see how this year’s team is working. We want to find ourselves and we want to find our strengths. Everyone on the floor should be bringing something special and unique and that’s what we’re looking for.”