Illinois volleyball fans can see it on October 3 the same team that went on a six-game win streak to start the season. Or they can look at the team that suffered back-to-back losses in its most recent games. Illinois Volleyball will host No. 2 Nebraska in Champaign at 6 p.m. This home conference opener is a sellout game at Huff Hall.

The Illini finally return home after their months-long hiatus at Huff Hall. Because of this, there are a lot of questions about how the Illini perform in their first Big Ten home game.

The overall record for the team stands at 8-4. Three of Illinois’ losses came to ranked opponents: No. 11 Oregon, No. 23 Dayton and No. 25 Washington. The Big Ten has eight programs ranked in the NCAA top 25.

John Cook leads Nebraska women’s volleyball as head coach. Since 2000, Cook has created a volleyball dynasty in Cornhuskers country. The program shows off five national championships, four of which came under Cook’s tutelage.

The Cornhuskers have made 13 conference titles, 11 NCAA semifinals and eight NCAA finals under Cook. Last year, Nebraska made history when they set a volleyball world record on August 30. More than 90,000 fans packed Memorial Stadium to watch Nebraska defeat Omaha 3-0.

On the home side, head coach Chris Tamas is in his eighth season leading the Illinois volleyball program. He has a personal record of 131-81 and a conference record of 80-58. The Illini have also qualified for the NCAA Tournament four times under Tamas, with three NCAA regional appearances and the Final Four in 2018.

Tamas is an experienced coach, but has his work cut out for him against the Huskers. Nebraska recently added four players to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Watchlist for 2024 Division I Player of the Year. It includes sophomore outside hitter Harper Murray, who won the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023. Now she is averaging 3.18 kills and 2.30 digs per set this season.

From roster to roster it seems to be an even match. Since Illinois’ tallest player is 6-foot-1 and Nebraska’s tallest player is 6-foot-1, there will be some competition at the net. Illinois graduate student outside hitter Raina Terry has been dominant with her kills this season. Likewise, freshman middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot has made great blocks for the Illini. Fans will be stuffing Huff, hoping that Illinois’ talents are enough to stop the Cornhuskers.

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