Illinois volleyball (13-5, 5-3) puts its five-game win streak on the line against No. 2 Nebraska. This is the second time the two teams will face each other this year.
Illinois will face a tough test against Nebraska this Friday. This is its first ranked opponent since the team played Nebraska earlier this month.
Illinois has started to receive votes in the top 25, claiming No. 4 this week. A victory over Nebraska could propel Illinois into the top 25 for the first time this season.
Over the last five games, the team has won in sweeps three times. The two times Illinois did not win in a straight set were against Northwestern and Michigan State.
Last time the programs competed
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The last time Illinois and Nebraska faced each other, it did not end well for Illinois. The team fell to Nebraska on Oct. 3 in a straight-set loss.
The standouts for Illinois were graduate student outside hitter Raina Terry and junior outside hitter Averie Hernandez. Terry was the offensive leader in kills with 13, while Hernandez followed with 11 kills.
Illinois as a program has struggled against Nebraska. In total, the Illini have only defeated the Cornhuskers three times. Head coach Chris Tamas has only won once against them as well.
“It’s tough in this conference because everyone’s pretty good,” Tamas said. “It’s really a tribute to the players, to just kind of stay with them mentally because it’s not easy to do. I tell the team all the time, ‘If we’re easy, everyone will just go do it.’”
The ugly part of the previous loss
The biggest thing that killed Illinois against Nebraska: the number of collective errors. Illinois had 18 total errors compared to Nebraska’s nine.
As a team, Illinois is tied with Michigan for the sixth most service errors in the Big Ten. Currently, the Illini stand 11th in the conference in total offensive errors in the conference.
Individually, redshirt junior setter Brooke Mosher sits at second in serve errors with 63 total on the year.
Terry is fifth in the Big Ten when it comes to offensive errors, and currently has 113 on the year.
Defensive lock up
Illinois’ defense has picked up over the last five games, spearheaded by freshman middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Cari Bohm.
Philpot is tied for eighth place among Big Ten freshmen in blocks. Bohm sits at 22nd in the conference. Philpot has 80.0, while Bohm has 69.0.
“There’s a technical element, too, but I think a lot of it is just the mentality, we’re going to be a block-focused team,” Bohm said. “We’re going to go get that ball, and we’re going to shut them down.”
Terry falls 49th in the conference in the same category. In total, she has 44.0 on the year.
“I think we just knew that we needed to work on it in practice after how it was going in preseason,” Terry said. “We work on it every day, and I think it translates really well.”
The first hit is Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in Lincoln, Nebraska. Illini fans hope their team can stay strong and make their mark against one of the most intimidating competitors in the nation.
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