Coming off its first 3-0 loss in conference play, Illinois returns to action in Evanston on Wednesday to take on Northwestern.

The two teams have faced off once already this season, with the Illini winning in five sets in Champaign on Sep. 25. Northwestern won the first and fourth sets, though Illinois dominated in the fifth and final set, 15-9, to avoid the home upset.

Sophomore Raina Terry ran the show for the Illini, notching several season-highs, including 19 kills, five aces, 26.5 points and five total blocks.

Since that match, Illinois has gone 2-4, with all four losses coming against top-10 opponents: Wisconsin, Purdue and Nebraska. Most recently, the Illini fell to the Cornhuskers on Saturday in straight sets in Lincoln, though they swept the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday.

“I actually felt like we did a lot of things well against Nebraska, but a couple of those points that went our way against Iowa didn’t go our way against Nebraska,” said head coach Chris Tamas. “There were a lot of points of execution in both that I liked, and there were points of execution that I didn’t like. … One match you’re able to escape with a win, and the other one you’re just a little bit behind, but that’s just kind of the way it goes.”

The Wildcats are 3-3 in their last six matches, with the three wins coming against Rutgers, Maryland and Iowa, though they sit at 8-11 overall and 3-5 in conference play.

Northwestern is led by junior outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara, who leads the Big Ten in kills (285) and points (340.5). On Sep. 25, the Glenwood native registered 19 kills on a .300 hitting percentage.

Redshirt junior outside hitter Hanna Lesiak also has been a bright spot for the Wildcats, as the Frankfort, Illinois native has the second-most kills (200) and the second-most aces (16) on the team through 19 matches this season.

For Illinois, middle blocker Kennedy Collins has been off to the best start of her college career, as she has already surpassed her previous season-bests in kills (178), solo blocks (9), digs (22) and points (222.0). The Zion native hopes the Illini can use the last match as preparation ahead of Wednesday night. 

“We already know most of their game plan from the last time we played them, so I think playing them a second time and just knowing their scout already will help us,” Collins said.

Tamas is aware that the Wildcats have made a lot of adjustments since Sep. 25, and he knows the trip to Evanston won’t be easy.

“I think we executed the game plan well against them the first time, and people are going to make adjustments as you go along, and they’ve made some changes over the course of the weeks,” Tamas said. “I know there’s a new player playing for them now, and they’ve been using one of their outside hitters a little bit differently, so we’re gonna have to adjust to that. It was a close one when we were here at Huff, and I expect a battle up there in Evanston.”

The match is set to start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

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