Anytime an Illinois team beats Ohio State, I feel compelled to write about it. This is mostly because of my own feelings of rivalry toward the Big Ten’s most pretentious university — don’t even try to deny it — but also because beating OSU in any sport is usually an impressive feat.

This time it was volleyball that gave me that warm fuzzy feeling that only beating the Buckeyes can provide. The Illini handed then-No. 17 Ohio State a 3-1 loss last Sunday night that invigorated a disheartened team.

Two days earlier, volleyball had lost a heartbreaker to No. 2 Penn State in five sets. They were so close. Inches away from a season-saving win.

A lot was learned about the Illini during the Penn State matchup. A loss is a loss, and it hurts, but a five set loss means they fought, and fought hard. It was a back and forth battle with Illinois winning sets one and three before dropping the final two to the Nittany Lions.

I don’t think this loss was the worst thing in the world. In fact, I think it’s a step in the right direction for a team looking for some consistency. To come back from a physically and mentally grueling Friday game to beat a good Ohio State team two days later says something great about the toughness of this year’s squad.

And honestly, I had doubted that toughness. Too many 3-0 losses had me wondering if Illinois could prove it was more than just a good program suffering from one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

To be a good team you have to win big games, and win they finally did.

Boy, do I wish I could have been at Huff Hall on Sunday to hear the chants of O-H-I-O slowly dissipate as Ohio State continued its slide down the Big Ten standings. The Buckeyes are now sitting at 14-6 overall — a seemingly impressive tally — but one digs deeper and notices a 2-6 conference record, four of those losses coming right in a row. Yikes.

Last night’s game against Northwestern marked Illinois’ first midweek match of the season. The Wildcats came in with their tails between their legs after losing 3-0 to the same Penn State team that the Illini came so close to beating just days before. But in the end, Illinois came up just short, losing 3-2 in Evanston.

While this isn’t the desired outcome for a team looking for a spark, it wasn’t the 3-0 losses of the not-so-distant past. Northwestern is an underrated team that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s unfortunate, but the Ohio State win isn’t diminished. Illinois still has something positive to build on.

For their next test, the Illini will travel to Madison on Sunday to face the No. 15 ranked Badgers on their home court, and hopefully secure a victory over yet another top team. But Wisconsin is looking to wrap up the first half of conference season with a big win at home.

Volleyball is a momentum game. Feelings of disappointment or regret aren’t supposed to carry over from match to match, but sometimes they do.

After the Northwestern loss, Illinois is at a crossroads. What happens in Madison may set the tone for the rest of the season.

Aryn is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ArynBraun.