Chambana Sun

The University of Illinois women's volleyball team will continue its road trip with matches against Ohio State and Northwestern this weekend. The Illini, currently on a three-match winning streak, are set to face Ohio State on Friday at 5 p.m. CT in Columbus and Northwestern on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in Evanston. Both matches will be available for streaming on B1G+.

Illinois recently completed a successful East Coast swing, defeating Rutgers on October 11 to improve to a 5-1 record in Big Ten conference play, marking their best start since 2011. In that match, Taylor de Boer led with 16 kills—her sixth consecutive match with double-digit kills—while Alyssa Aguayo contributed 11 kills and Ashlyn Philpot added six kills and three blocks.

Ohio State enters Friday's contest with a 3-11 record and is 1-5 at home this season. The Buckeyes have returned twelve players from last year and added new talent through transfers and recruiting. Hannah Jones leads the team with a 3.74 kills per set average. Ohio State is coached by Jen Flynn Oldenburg, who previously served as an assistant coach at Illinois for ten seasons.

Northwestern holds a 12-6 overall record and is 2-4 in conference play. Senior Rylen Reid leads the Wildcats' offense and ranks tenth in the Big Ten for total kills. Tim Nollan is in his second season as head coach for Northwestern.

Illinois has a narrow lead in its all-time series against Ohio State (47-46) and a wider margin over Northwestern (67-32). The Illini have won their last two matches against both teams.

Earlier this season, Illinois secured its first win over a top-10 opponent since 2021 by defeating #10 Purdue on the road. Ashlyn Philpot recorded 12 kills and four blocks in that match, while Taylor de Boer led with 17 kills.

Taylor de Boer was recently recognized with the AthletesCAN True Sport Award at the 2025 Canadian Sport Awards for her perseverance through a rare autoimmune disease and her advocacy for rare disease awareness.

Kenna Phelan was named Big Ten Setter of the Week on September 29 after helping Illinois to wins over Oregon and Purdue, averaging 9.4 assists per set across those matches.

Freshmen Alyssa Aguayo and Taryn Kirsch have made immediate impacts for Illinois, with Aguayo averaging nearly three kills per set and Kirsch leading the team in digs.

The Illini added nine newcomers for the 2025 season, including experienced transfers Auburn Tomkinson and Kenna Phelan.

Taylor de Boer also represented Canada at international competitions over the summer, helping her team to a silver medal at the U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup.

The coaching staff saw changes for 2025, with Meredith Schamun joining as associate head coach after four years leading Penn's program, and Hannah Hashbarger becoming director of operations following two seasons at Regis.

Illinois finished the previous season with an 18-13 overall record and made an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Head coach Chris Tamas continues to lead Illinois, now in his eighth season, with an overall record of 159-99 and five NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over the program.