Jen Tamas Assistant Coach | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Jen Tamas Assistant Coach | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Illinois volleyball will face a challenging slate at the Hyatt Place Invitational this weekend. The team is set to compete against #24 Dayton on Friday and WKU on Saturday, with both matches airing on ESPN+ at 1 p.m. CT and 3 p.m. CT, respectively.
The 2024 season marks the 51st year of Illinois volleyball, with the Illini holding an overall record of 1,072-624-7 (.632). Chris Tamas enters his eighth season as head coach for the Orange and Blue, boasting a 137-81 (.628) mark.
An audio stream of the matches will be available on FightingIllini.com/live with Tim Ditman.
Last weekend, Illinois volleyball remained undefeated after a successful showing at the Cyclone Invitational, sweeping Toledo and defeating Iowa State and Wake Forest in five sets. Raina Terry, Brooke Mosher, and Ashlyn Philpot were named to the all-tournament team, with Terry earning MVP honors.
Raina Terry continues to excel as she competes in her final season with Illinois. The Ohio native leads the Big Ten with 118.5 points and averages 5.07 points per set this year. Terry's 96 total kills place her second in the conference for the current campaign.
Terry ranks fifth all-time at Illinois with 1,730 career kills and second all-time with 178 career aces.
After an impressive week where Illinois went 4-0, Raina Terry was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 9. She led Illinois with 73 kills and averaged 4.29 kills per set last week while also contributing defensively with blocks in every match.
Brooke Mosher became the first Illinois player in over two decades to post a triple-double when she helped secure victory over Wake Forest by tallying 32 assists, ten kills, and ten digs in a five-set match.
Illinois started its season strong by going undefeated through six matches—the best start since their impressive run in 2018 when they began with a perfect record through fourteen matches.
Dayton enters Friday’s match ranked #24 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll with a perfect record of five wins this season. WKU comes into Saturday’s match-up holding a four-win three-loss record for their season so far.
Chris Tamas has guided Illinois to victories over both teams before; he holds a winning record against Dayton from their last encounter in September of last year where they won decisively three sets to none.
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