If all goes well this weekend, the nation’s regular season blocking leader will be getting her hands on plenty of balls.

Illinois middle blocker Johannah Bangert has played a large role in shutting down opponents’ offensive attacks all season long. As the No. 9 national seed, the Illini need Bangert’s presence at the net against the No. 8 national seed University of California and AVCA All-Pac-10 outside hitter Hana Cutura to win and extend their season.

“It will definitely be a challenge. We’ve talked about it in scouting that Cal is a dominantly outside team, and that’s going to be a big key to our match is being able to stop their left side attack so it’s going to be a big challenge for me especially and our other middle,” Bangert said during Thursday’s press conference. “Even if we’re not getting the touches or the blocks that we need, but just to make sure we’re setting up a consistent block so that our defense can play around us.”

As a senior, setter Lizzie Bazzetta will perform on the national stage in the Round of 16 for the first time.

“I’m just really excited that it’s not over yet, that we’ve had, so far, two more weeks than we had any other year that I’ve been here to keep playing,” Bazzetta said. “I want to keep playing as long as possible, so I think it’s just exciting that we’re still able to play together.”

The Illini (26-7, 15-5 Big Ten) kept their season alive by defeating Cincinnati and Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first two rounds of tournament action last weekend at Huff Hall. With the victories, the squad earned the opportunity to advance to NCAA regional action, which will be held at Penn State on Friday and Saturday.

But if the Orange and Blue have plans of extending their season any further, consistency will be the key to defeating Cal on Friday.

“If you go on the past, our team has been more consistent, but their team has had hot streaks that go way beyond what we can do,” Illinois head coach Don Hardin said. “They play in powerful, momentum-filled spurts that devastate teams and we’re just slow and steady peck-away, so it’s going to be very interesting.

“All we have control over is our side of it and trying to slow down their really good outsides,” Hardin added. The Golden Bears (24-6, 13-5 Pac-10) boast strong outside hitting in Cutura. The junior has tallied 466 kills on the season while hitting at a .303 clip. And senior Am’ra Solomon has added 288 kills while hitting .294.

“This match is a very interesting one because the eight-nine seed is notorious for being a scratch-and-claw battle,” Hardin said. “This match could be won by either team close, or it could be a blowout and nobody knows what’s going to happen.

“We could bomb and they could advance easily, we could play really well and they could still advance, they could bomb,” Hardin added. “Anything could happen in this one, so we really have to just take care of ourselves.”

If the Orange and Blue can defeat the Golden Bears, they may get one more shot at the No. 1 national seed and undefeated Penn State, who will play Western Michigan on Friday.

Despite losing to Penn State twice this season, the Illini wouldn’t object to getting one more chance against their Big Ten foes. And since the two teams have already matched up this season, it makes preparation easy for Illinois. Hardin will look to improve upon his 2-24 record against Penn State during his head coaching career at Illinois.

“As a staff, the good news is we don’t have to put a scouting plan together against Penn State,” Hardin said. “We’ve got plenty of tape and we know what they’re going to do. We can put all our energies into Cal and really focus on them.”

With Hardin planning to retire following the season and a trio of seniors nearing the conclusion of their careers, the Fighting Illini are focused on playing the game their way and enjoying what time they have left together.

“It’s a really fun steam and (we) don’t want to end it,” junior libero Ashley Edinger said. “It’s a fun group and this is their last time and it’s also our last time with them, so it’s a last for everybody in a way, because I mean it is our last time this group could play together. Every game could be a last time, so you just have to go out and enjoy it, have fun.”