Illinois volleyball (18-11, 10-9) ended its season at Huff on a bleak note. No. 16 Minnesota came into Champaign and beat Illinois in four sets. Illinois has now lost 10 in a row against Minnesota and is 1-11 against Minnesota under head coach Chris Tamas.
Last time at Huff
Five seniors were honored Wednesday night following the loss. Three of them played in the game, with graduate student outside hitter Raina Terry, graduate student libero Christina Martinez-Mundo and senior setter Raegen Reilly all contributing.
Terry paced the Illini in kills during the match, with a 20-kill performance against the Gophers. Terry notched six digs during the performance as well.
“We all said, ‘OK, great, Jackie Quaid’s gone,’ and then all of a sudden Raina Terry shows up,” said Minnesota head coach Keegan Cook. “I know someone’s on the way. Someone always fills the spots that get vacated.”
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Freshman outside hitter Laynie Smith was second on the team in kills with 14. When looking for someone to replace the hole that Terry will leave, Smith is a possibility.
Mundo was fantastic regarding the service line, having six aces on the night. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to sustain success during the game.
Victory snatched away
Multiple times during sets three and four, Illinois had Minnesota on its heels. Illinois led by five in Set 3 and two in Set 4. Still, the Illini lost both sets and the match.
“It takes a lot of, I think, just having your priorities in order,” Cook said. “Through that fourth set, it didn’t look like we had our priorities in order. I told them at the second timeout just how you finish this set will say a lot about you.”
The loss puts Illinois at No. 8 in the Big Ten, with the chances of a bid to the NCAA tournament still alive. No. 16 Minnesota is one spot ahead of Illinois in the conference standings at No. 7.
What’s next?
Both Indiana and Illinois should be motivated for their regular season finale. Illinois hopes to rebound after two straight four-set losses, while Indiana wants to play spoiler and get revenge from its earlier matchup.
Illinois already played and beat Indiana in a three-set sweep back in October. But Illinois has only won two of its last six games. It has played some tough teams during this stretch, with three of the six opponents ranking in the top 25.
The final game is Friday in Bloomington, with a 6 p.m. first hit, and will be on Big Ten Plus. It will also be available on the radio on 93.9 FM and 1400 AM WDWS.
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