Chambana Sun

Illinois volleyball will play its first road matches of the 2025 season this weekend, traveling to face Notre Dame on Friday and No. 3 Louisville on Sunday. The match against Notre Dame is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT at Purcell Pavilion and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. Sunday's contest at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville will air nationally on ESPN.

The Illini began their season with two neutral-site games, splitting results by losing to South Dakota State and defeating Vanderbilt at the Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party. Taylor de Boer recorded back-to-back career-highs in kills during those matches, while freshman Alyssa Aguayo became the first true freshman since Laura DeBruler in 2007 to record a double-double in her debut match.

Notre Dame enters the weekend with a 1-1 record after competing in the Catholic Challenge, returning 14 players from last year's team and led by head coach Salima Rockwell. Morgan Gaerte, a preseason All-ACC selection, has averaged 4.1 kills per set so far this season.

Louisville holds a perfect 3-0 record heading into the matchup and is under new leadership with head coach Dan Meske. The Cardinals were national runners-up last year and feature three players on the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award Watch List: Chloe Chicoine, Cara Cresse, and Nayelis Cabello.

Illinois leads the all-time series against Notre Dame 5-2 but lost their most recent meeting in 2023. Against Louisville, Illinois has a 13-4 advantage and has won four straight meetings; their last encounter was during the NCAA tournament in December 2018.

Head coach Chris Tamas recently reached his 150th win with Illinois following their victory over Vanderbilt, becoming only the fourth coach in program history to achieve that milestone.

The Illini added nine newcomers to their roster for this season, including transfers Auburn Tomkinson and Kenna Phelan as well as early enrollee Devin Dzienny. Kayla Burbage returns after missing last season due to injury.

Taylor de Boer represented Canada internationally over the summer, helping her team secure a silver medal at the U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup—the country's best finish ever at that event.

Illinois finished last season with an overall record of 18-13 and returned to the NCAA Tournament before falling to Northern Iowa in the opening round. Raina Terry, who became Illinois' all-time leader in kills, points, and aces before being drafted by Columbus Fury of the Pro Volleyball Federation, is among key departures from last year's squad.

Ashlyn Philpot returns after being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team following her performance as a middle blocker last year.

The coaching staff saw changes during the offseason with Meredith Schamun joining as associate head coach after leading Penn's volleyball program for four years and Hannah Hashbarger taking over as director of operations following her time at Regis University.

Chris Tamas is entering his ninth season as head coach of Illinois volleyball. Under his leadership since February 2017, Illinois has made five NCAA Tournament appearances—including three trips to NCAA Regionals—and reached the Final Four in 2018.

Illinois will appear on national television nine times this season across networks including BTN, FS1, SEC Network, and ESPN.