Senior outside hitter Raina Terry is as motivated as ever, following a season in which the Illini missed the postseason for a third year in a row. Terry is currently heading into her fifth and final season at Illinois, winning plenty of awards along the way. Still, she is focused on making the postseason and is working on perfecting her game. Even though Terry found herself in a good position last season, there is still one thing on her and her team’s mind heading into spring ball.
“We are all on the same page about putting our nose to the grindstone and putting the work in for next season,” Terry said. “We have to have those goals and stay motivated.”
Terry was named a First Team All-Big Ten for the second year in a row and was also named to the AVCA Northeast Region team. Terry was named the Irish Invitational All-Tournament team and the Boilermaker Challenge All-Tournament Team.
Terry capped off her senior season by leading the team in several categories. She led the team in kills, having 539 while averaging about 4.69 kills per set. She has molded the offensive side of her game over the last four years at Illinois, but her defensive ability is a side she is focused on improving.
“Spring is all about bettering yourself, while fall is putting all of our skills together,” Terry said. “Mine is gonna be more on defense. I would like to see the team stay motivated. We haven’t made the tournament, which sucks. We should be motivated. There’s no time for off days.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Terry finished No. 3 on the team in blocks, with 74 blocks to finish the year. She also finished No. 2 on the team in aces, with 36 total aces per set, putting up .31, and 12 solo blocks to finish out the season.
Terry recorded a double-double against Northwestern on Nov. 25 with 13 kills and 10 digs in the loss.
“It’s my last spring season,” Terry said. “It’s the last one I’m ever gonna do. It’s kinda hard to think about, so I wanna make sure I take advantage of every single day I’m in the gym.”
Terry will be put into a larger leadership role for next season after announcing during the senior day game against Michigan. Being a leader for the program and also a leader to the incoming freshman will take her game to the next level.
“What we do every year with the freshmen is make sure that they understand the culture and the values,” Terry said. “When they get on campus in the summer, we have our conversations with them and set the expectations early.”
Terry had 10 matches this year where she put up 20 or more kills and seven of those games came against league opponents. Going into her final year, she looks to move up in the all-time rankings, currently sitting at No. 10 in all-time kills with 1,632 total and No. 4 all-time in career aces with 164.
Terry was a focal point in keeping the hopes of the postseason alive for the Illini as they racked off a six-game win streak following losing three games straight. Terry averaged 18.6 kills in those six straight wins. Her best game came against No. 16 Purdue during the win streak where she had 19 kills, eight digs, three blocks and an ace. Terry looks to build up momentum going into the spring season, intending to spend a lot of time growing as a player.
@EBrewer1172
