Chambana Sun

Illinois will remain in-state for its final nonconference road trip of the 2025 regular season, participating in the Linda Herman Volleyball Classic hosted by Illinois State from September 12-14 at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois. The Fighting Illini are scheduled to face Cincinnati on Friday, Miami (Fla.) on Saturday, and Illinois State on Sunday.

In their most recent matches, Illinois split a pair of contests during the second weekend of the season. The team secured a five-set win at Notre Dame on September 5 before falling in four sets to No. 3 Louisville on September 7. Taylor de Boer set a new career high with 18 kills against Louisville, marking her fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills. Freshman Alyssa Aguayo continued her strong start by extending her streak of matches with at least 10 kills to four. Auburn Tomkinson and Ashlyn Philpot also contributed career-best performances in kills over the weekend.

Kenna Phelan recorded back-to-back double-doubles, tallying 45 assists and 11 digs against Notre Dame and following up with 38 assists and 16 digs versus Louisville. Taryn Kirsch posted a career-high 17 digs against Notre Dame and added another double-digit effort against Louisville.

Cincinnati enters the tournament with a four-match winning streak and a record of 5-1 after winning the Chattanooga Classic and sweeping Xavier in their most recent outing. The Bearcats return ten letterwinners from last season’s squad and are led by first-year head coach Danijela Tomic, who is one win away from reaching 400 career victories.

Miami (Fla.), currently receiving votes in the AVCA poll, has won its last five matches after dropping its opener to Indiana. The Hurricanes have added several transfers and freshmen this year. Senior outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colon was named an AVCA All-American last season and was joined by setter Ariana Rodriquez on the Preseason All-ACC team. Head coach Jose "Keno" Gandara is in his thirteenth season leading Miami.

Illinois State stands at 4-2 heading into its first home matches of the year, highlighted by three consecutive sweeps at the Western Michigan Tournament earlier this season. Senior Aida Shadewald leads the Redbirds’ offense, while sophomore Khenedi Guest was also recognized on the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team. Head coach Allie Matters is now in her fourth year guiding Illinois State.

The Illini hold a historical advantage over Cincinnati (10-3), having won each of their last five meetings; their most recent contest resulted in a sweep for Illinois last season. Saturday’s match against Miami marks the first meeting between those programs. Against Illinois State, Sunday's matchup will be their sixty-second all-time meeting; ISU leads narrowly at 31-30, but Illinois has won two straight encounters.

Freshman Alyssa Aguayo has made an immediate impact for Illinois with three double-doubles across her first four collegiate matches—becoming the program’s first true freshman since Jacqueline Quade in 2016 to record double-digit kills in each of her first four games. Fellow freshman Taryn Kirsch has started as libero through four matches—the first time since Lily Barry started as a freshman at that position last year—and leads the team in digs.

Redshirt sophomore Auburn Tomkinson transferred from Texas this offseason and has reached double-digit kills twice while starting every match so far for Illinois.

The program welcomed nine newcomers for this season: Auburn Tomkinson, Taryn Kirsch, Devin Dzienny, Gabriella Pitcel, Kenna Phelan, Sophi Randall, Alyssa Aguayo, Ava Wysocki, and Lara Žigic joined during the offseason; Tomkinson (Texas) and Phelan (Florida State) bring previous collegiate experience.

Kayla Burbage announced she would return for another season after missing last year due to injury; she previously played two seasons with Illinois after transferring from Missouri.

Taylor de Boer represented Canada internationally over summer competition at both U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup—where Canada earned silver—and Senior Pan American Cup events held in Mexico.

Four players on this year's roster hail from within Illinois: Bianca May (Orland Park), Averie Hernandez (Bloomington), Vivian Campbell (Oswego), and Ava Wysocki (Kildeer).

Changes were made to head coach Chris Tamas's staff ahead of this season: Meredith Schamun joins as associate head coach following four years leading Penn’s volleyball program; Hannah Hashbarger arrives as director of operations after working at Regis University.

Last year saw success for Illinois volleyball as they finished with an overall record of 18-13—including a .500 mark in Big Ten play—and returned to NCAA Tournament action before being eliminated by Northern Iowa in round one. Raina Terry departed after setting school records for kills, points, and aces; she became the first Illini player drafted into Pro Volleyball Federation history when selected eleventh overall by Columbus Fury.

Ashlyn Philpot returns following recognition on last year's Big Ten All-Freshman Team; she had multiple standout performances including earning conference Freshman of the Week honors during her debut campaign.

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

Head coach Chris Tamas continues his tenure as eighth head coach in program history—having guided Illinois to five NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over—with an overall record now standing at 151-96 (.611). Under his leadership since arriving prior to the 2017 campaign, individual athletes have received numerous accolades including multiple AVCA All-America selections.