The No. 13 Minnesota volleyball squad is one of two Big Ten opponents that will invade Huff Hall this weekend to challenge the No. 19 Illini.

But for Golden Gophers’ head coach Mike Hebert, Huff Hall is familiar territory. Hebert was the head coach at Illinois from 1983 to 1995. During that time, he led the Illini to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1987 and 1988.

Current Fighting Illini head coach Don Hardin has strong ties to Hebert. Hardin served as Hebert’s assistant coach at Illinois from 1983 to 1987, and he played for Hebert at the University of Pittsburgh.

“He’s like my big brother. He’s like a mentor to me in many ways,” Hardin said. “I learned so much from him in my early career, getting into coaching and just becoming a professional. Just being a good person and treating people right.”

The friendship between the two goes beyond the volleyball court.

“Not only are we colleagues, we’re also very close friends,” Hebert said. “We were best men at each other’s weddings.”

Hardin had big shoes to fill when he took Hebert’s place as head coach at Illinois. He admits the task challenged their friendship.

But regardless of their personal relationship, when the game starts, it’s about winning the volleyball match.

“It’s all about our players. It’s not about him, it’s not about me,” Hardin said. It’s not about the things he did for this program or about me coming back to coach here. It’s about the players, it always has been and always will. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, but when the ball is in the air…”

The Golden Gophers boast a strong defense, including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, junior libero Christine Tan. The honor is Tan’s third this year, and she also leads the conference in digs and is ninth in the nation with 5.46 digs per set.

Two of the top blockers in the country will face off Friday. Minnesota sophomore middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer is third in blocks per set with 1.56, while Illinois sophomore middle blocker Johannah Bangert is sixth with 1.49 blocks per set.

On Saturday, the Illini will host a hot Iowa team. The Hawkeyes are riding a seven-match winning streak, which includes a sweep of then No. 18 Wisconsin. They are 2-0 in Big Ten play after defeating Northwestern last weekend. Hawkeyes’ head coach Sharon Dingman credits her team’s success on their increased confidence.

“I think this team has the feeling that they can compete and should be competing in this conference and certainly beating Wisconsin and Northwestern solidified that a little bit more for them,” Dingman said.

Leading the way for the Hawkeyes is senior outside hitter and St. Charles, Ill. native Catherine Smale, who has 173 kills and 111 digs while hitting .256.

The Illini are glad to be back at Huff, but the home court presents challenges of its own.

“We can’t get caught up in the excitement of the crowd. We gotta keep the tempo going at the pace we know we can play well at,” Hardin said.

And with a total of six Big Ten teams in the national rankings and playing good volleyball, it’s vital that the Illini defend their home court.

“This weekend, it’s really important for us at home that we don’t come away empty handed,” Hardin said. “We can’t afford to get down on ourselves from one opponent and then drop another match unnecessarily or we’ll be sinking the other way out of that pack.”