Chambana Sun

EVANSTON, Ill. – Raina Terry has set a new record for the Illinois volleyball program, becoming the all-time kills leader with 1,973 career kills. Her performance contributed to the Fighting Illini's victory over Northwestern in a four-set match.

The previous record was held by Jocelynn Birks from 2012-15. With this win, Illinois improved their overall record to 15-6 and their Big Ten conference play record to 7-4. Northwestern now stands at 4-15 overall and 2-9 in conference matches.

Illinois recorded a total of 44 kills with a hitting percentage of .233 during the match while limiting Northwestern to an .088 hitting percentage. Christina Martinez Mundo led defensively with 16 digs, and middle blockers Ashlyn Philpot and Cari Bohm each contributed four blocks.

In addition to Terry's achievement, Philpot and Laynie Smith also reached double-digit kills with ten each.

The match began with both teams exchanging points until Northwestern gained a lead of 15-11. Despite efforts from Illinois, including an ace from Terry, they lost the first set 25-22. In the second set, Illinois went on a scoring run with Terry serving and secured a win at 25-17 after capitalizing on attack errors by Northwestern.

During the third set, Illinois maintained control following key plays from Terry and Bohm, eventually winning the set decisively at 25-13. The fourth frame saw another rally from Illinois that included Terry's fifth ace of the day. The match concluded with Terry’s record-breaking kill leading to a final score of 25-19 in favor of Illinois.

Looking ahead, Illinois will face #7 Wisconsin at Huff Hall on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Additional notes include:

- Starters for Illinois were Raina Terry, Brooke Mosher, Averie Hernandez, Cari Bohm, Ashlyn Philpot, Laynie Smith, and Christina Martinez Mundo.

- The team wore long-sleeved orange jerseys for this match.

- Historically against Northwestern, Illinois holds a record of 67 wins to 32 losses.

- Coach Chris Tamas now has an all-time record of 11 wins and three losses against Northwestern.

- In the third frame alone, Illinois hit .409 (10 kills - one error -22 attempts).

- This marks Philpot's third time reaching double-digit kills this season.

- Raina Terry achieved her seventh double-double this year with additional stats including five aces.

Attendance for the game was reported as 1,685 spectators.