The Illinois volleyball team has an opportunity to help erase the ugly memories of Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.
Three days after hitting a season low and getting swept for the first time this season, No. 5 Illinois will face No. 11 Purdue on Wednesday in West Lafayette, Ind.
“There’s a lot of focus on us and just trying to steady out some of the things that started to fall apart in this weekend’s matches,” head coach Kevin Hambly said. “Culturally, we broke down just a little bit (against Minnesota), which happens at times during the season. There’s a lot of pressure. There’s a lot of tough matches. You don’t get a break, ever.”
The Illini (21-2, 10-2 Big Ten) are in the heart of the conference schedule and know teams play differently the second time around.
“Things change from the first half to the second half, so it’s going to be the same team, and at that point people are trying to figure out different things, trying new things,” sophomore Jennifer Beltran said. “We’re still going to expect them to come out trying their best.”
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Illinois and Purdue (20-3, 9-3) met earlier in the season, with Illinois pulling through in four sets.
“We need to get better, because all the teams are getting better,” senior Colleen Ward said. “Certain player tendencies are different. We just need to focus on how we’re playing rather than how (Purdue) is playing.”
From now until December, when the NCAA tournament begins, the Illini look at the rest of their season as time to improve.
Two losses might mar their chances at a conference title, but Hambly said the focus is to peak at the end of the season.
“That’s where our heads are all the time; that’s what we’re preparing for,” Hambly said. “We’re going to have a gameplan against Purdue, but we’re not tapering, we’re not doing one thing to get ready for one match. We’re getting ready for the six matches at the end of the year that we want to play.”
Hambly said Purdue is like the Illini and any other Big Ten team — defensive, physical and will extend rallies.
“You got to grind it out with them,” Hambly said. “It’s a great match for us to get things right, to start to get back to our style of play, which I thought we got away from at times at Minnesota.
“I think it’s a great match for us to get right, to start to get back to our style of play, which I thought we got away from at times.”
