It’s been a year of roster turnover and what-ifs for a young Illinois (13-12, 8-8) team. It started conference play 7-1 and was flying as high. A six-game losing streak followed the start and brought Illinois back into the middle of the pack.
Now at .500 in conference play, Illinois heads to the Golden State for the first time since 2014. The final road trip of the season kicks off in Los Angeles with a match against UCLA (15-11, 9-7) Thursday at 9 p.m. CST.
Hotel California
Since its last consecutive wins on Oct. 8 and Oct. 11, UCLA has had an up-and-down season. The Bruins have a 5-4 home record while having a 3-6 ranked record. The Illini go neck and neck in various stat categories and better the Bruins in some. But as head coach Chris Tamas has reiterated several times this season, the Big Ten is a difficult conference to play in.
“I will say it till you bury me six feet under that this conference is the best conference from top to bottom,” Tamas said Saturday. “There is no easy opponent. There is no one that’s just going to come in and give you a game. You have got to earn everything.”
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Apart from its three ranked wins, one of UCLA’s star moments came in its loss to No. 1 Nebraska on Friday. The Cornhuskers had won their last 48 sets until the Bruins took them down in the third set. This unlikely set win was largely due to UCLA’s solid defense.
With one less game played, the Illini have 1,206 kills compared to the Bruins’ 1,237, 134 aces to the Bruins’ 103 and 1,101 assists to the Bruins’ 1,164. UCLA holds an edge in defense.
The Illini have allowed 1,236 opponent kills, whereas the Bruins have only allowed 1,157. The Bruins have registered 1,350 digs compared to the Illini’s 1,246. The impact gets larger in terms of blocks, as UCLA has put up 217.0 compared to Illinois’ 185.5. This will require Illinois to make the most of its offense on Thursday.
Final four
The Illinois roster that earned a spot in the NCAA tournament last season lost nine players, either to graduation or to the transfer portal. This season, the team has seven freshmen and two new transfer players. Out of the seven rookies, three have played a major role for the team. And the two transferees — redshirt sophomore opposite Auburn Tomkinson and junior setter Kenna Phelan — have been critical pieces in the lineup.
“We got a great group of athletes,” Tamas said. “They are just young and inexperienced. I’m very proud of them for how they are fighting through some of these moments and how they are responding to it.”
The transition into a new place has not been without small growing pains, but a word several players on the roster have mentioned is “chemistry.” It’s been a season of three parts: 5-3 in nonconference play, a 7-1 start to Big Ten play and then the six-game losing streak. According to Phelan, the team is continuously learning how to play better as a unit.
“Obviously, it’s challenging for them that they have to go through this,” Tamas said. “A lot of times when they come in here, it’s the first time they have ever played in arenas like these, where every single game is go time.”
Now with four games left, reinforcing foundations for next season is key. Not considering the transfer portal, Illinois could bring back 14 of its 18 players next year. Players like freshmen outside hitter Alyssa Aguayo and libero Taryn Kirsch, who have already been top contributors, will earn more experience.
“A lot of it’s just a learning process,” Tamas said. “They are doing it all together right now. We just got to continue one day at a time.”
With an NCAA tournament selection far from a guarantee, these final four games are an opportunity to end the season on a winning note. It starts on the West Coast on Thursday at the Pauley Pavilion.
