247Sports • 1st January 2025

'All scrambled today': Illini WBB drops first home game of the season in shootout against Washington

Searching for its 13th-straight home victory, Illinois women's basketball fell short in an offensive shootout against Washington on Tuesday. Following a low-scoring, defensive slugfest over the Weekend against Oregon, the points came in bulk against the Huskies on Tuesday.

Despite the Huskies' leading scorer Elle Ladine only managing six points, the Huskies beat the Illini 84-75.

Illinois (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten) was outrebounded for the first time this season and fell to a Washington (...

247Sports • 29th December 2024

Gretchen Dolan shines in return from injury for Illini WBB's first B1G win: 'It was good to have that back'

After digesting a long off-week break for Christmas, Illinois women's basketball bounced back with injury returnee Gretchen Dolan playing a key role off the bench in a scrappy 64-59 victory over Oregon.

Dolan had been sidelined for the last month with an apparent knee injury. Her last on-court action was in the team's November 27 loss to Kentucky.

But Dolan had an instant impact in her return, scoring 13 points and being the most productive Illini from beyond the arc, hitting a trio of three-p...

247Sports • 15th December 2024

Berry Wallace's breakout lifts Illini WBB to win over Southern Indiana: 'She just has a good demeanor'

On an afternoon that started with very little offensive production, highly-touted freshman forward Berry Wallace provided a much-needed offensive spark for the Illini women's basketball team.

While the 73-50 final scoreline might suggest that the Illini (9-2, 0-1 Big Ten) strolled to a victory in a buy game against a mid-major opponent, Sunday's tilt against Southern Indiana wasn't easy the whole way through.

But Wallace at one point seemed to be the only player dressed in white wh...

247Sports • 13th December 2024

'A dream come true for me': Familiarity, backing & promises of success draw Katie Hultin back to Illini soccer

Katie Hultin was worth the wait for Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman.

Longtime Illinois soccer coach Janet Rayfield on Oct. 30 announced her retirement after 23 seasons at the helm of the program, just days after the team's season came to an end. But the Illini's hire Hultin was announced on Dec. 10. The search for her replacement was a lengthy one, but Whitman praised the team's patience.

"This process took a little bit longer than some of the other searches that we have undertaken,"...

247Sports • 6th December 2024

Illini VB soaking up return to NCAA Tournament: 'It's a big deal to get to this'

After closing the lid on an 18-12 regular season that saw them go 10-10 in Big Ten play, Illinois volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. They matched into the Louisville Regional, where they will play their first-round match against No. 8-seeded Northern Iowa at 3 p.m. CT Friday (ESPN+) and with a win, play the winner of No. 1-seeded Louisville and Chicago State.

Chris Tamas's team had reason to hold their breaths on Selection Sunday. They'd lost five of their...

247Sports • 26th November 2024

'We're playing with a tournament bid on the line': Illini VB look to avoid late season slide on Senior Night

After a 1-1 weekend that saw Illinois volleyball (18-10, 10-8 Big Ten) handle business in one should-be victory and then fall flat in another, their postseason hopes took a slight dent. But the Illini should still be well inside the bubble.

The Illini handled Rutgers (6-23, 1-17 Big Ten) easily in a sweep, but head coach Chris Tamas said following Saturday's 3-1 loss to UCLA (13-14, 7-11 Big Ten) that the match against the Bruins was always going to be a trap game.

"You've got a te...

247Sports • 23rd November 2024

Bostic scores career-high to lead Illini to win over Oregon State: 'Everything was falling for me tonight'

Despite being short-handed once again due to injuries, Illinois women's basketball powered through to an 85-66 victory over Oregon State at State Farm Center thanks to its veterans. Illini head coach Shauna Green's trio of fifth-year seniors were the only Illinois players to score in double figures and combined for 63 of the team's 85 points.

Kendall Bostic scored a career-high 31 points to go with eight rebounds against the Beavers, and Makira Cook added a season-high 20 points (8-...

247Sports • 22nd November 2024

‘They’re all good teams this time of year’: Illini VB look to bounce back against Rutgers, UCLA

After suffering back-to-back 3-0 losses on the road to top-ten teams, Illinois (17-9, 9-7 Big Ten) finds itself still in a good position to qualify for postseason volleyball.

"It's part of being in the conference, you'll catch two losses whenever, so you gotta make sure that you're just good," head coach Chris Tamas said. "We just talked about having a great practice this morning [on Wednesday], that's all we can control. I can't control anything in the future. If you can, let me know and we'll...

247Sports • 18th November 2024

Despite Bryant injury, Illini WBB gives Field Trip Day crowd plenty to cheer about with 94-25 rout of Le Moyne

Fans who found their way to State Farm Center on Monday morning likely knew it was field trip day. If it wasn't the yellow school buses or the lines of chaperones that gave it away, it was the noise.

A crowd of 13,486 (the third-highest in program history), mostly comprised of elementary students from schools in the surrounding area kept the noise levels consistently high through four quarters — and the Illini gave them plenty to cheer about.

No. 22 Illinois (4-0) cruised their way...

247Sports • 15th November 2024

With tournament hopes 'in good shape,' Illini volleyball looks to add to résumé with two top-10 opportunities

With wins over No. 20 USC and Ohio State last weekend, Illinois volleyball is in a strong position to hear its name called when the selection committee announces its field of 64 for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

It would be the Illini's first time in the Big Dance since 2021 when they reached the Sweet Sixteen. While a win over a ranked opponent may have been one of the final pieces that Illini head coach Chris Tamas needed for his team to realize their postseason goals, he tries not to put too muc...

247Sports • 15th November 2024

Brown-Haggar, Dolan give glimpse of future in elevated roles with Cook sidelined: 'It's so good for them'

On an evening that it was missing last season's leading scorer in fifth-year senior point guard Makira Cook, Illinois women's basketball got a glimpse of its future in the backcourt.

Four players scored in double digits in No. 23 Illinois' 84-37 win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday at State Farm Center, including two guards who likely will take over as lead options once Cook and fellow senior star Genesis Bryant run out of eligibility after this season.

Mississippi State transfer guard Jasmin...

247Sports • 8th November 2024

'You don't get there if you don't win': Illini VB look to add résumé-boosting win against No. 20 USC

The expanded 18-team Big Ten conference is still new, but Illinois volleyball head coach Chris Tamas says it's been just about what he's expected. Travel and rest-and-recovery cycles were named as two factors he and his staff were aware of when expansion was first announced, but perhaps the biggest factor is that the already-packed conference schedule fits four new teams into it.

The challenge that four new West Coast teams adds other than their geography is that programs now only have three te...

247Sports • 3rd November 2024

'We're peaking at the right time': Illinois rides momentum into matchup against No. 7 Wisconsin

Just past the halfway point of conference play, Illinois volleyball is positioning itself to be in control of its postseason destiny. A postseason berth in 2024 would be the program's first after missing out on the NCAA Tournament the past two years, but the Illini still have more work to do.

"I think we're peaking at the right time," star fifth-year outside hitter Raina Terry said. "You're not gonna play your best volleyball at the beginning of the season, you want to be playing your best voll...

247Sports • 1st November 2024

'Really big plays in big-time moments': Martinez Mundo embracing Illinois volleyball's spark plug role

While she's only had the team's libero shirt for a few weeks now, Illinois senior Christina Martinez Mundo has made it hers. As the libero, the Eastern Illinois transfer is trusted as the team's best passer, tasked with covering the most floor and finding the setter with the utmost accuracy.

She started her career in Champaign as something the fanbase had seen before: a fifth-year defensive specialist transferring in from a mid-major looking to challenge themselves at the Power Five...

247Sports • 17th October 2024

Illini volleyball raises résumé with four-match B1G win streak: 'Now, the target's on your back'

Just over halfway through its season, Illinois volleyball is 12-5 and 4-3 in Big Ten play. After Wednesday's win over the Indiana Hoosiers, they're on a run of four straight victories, which comes after a run of three straight losses to opponents that were ranked in the AVCA top 25.

They wrapped up last week with two road victories against Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan, who entered Friday's match 13-2, were handled in three sets by the Illini. Michigan State, who were 7-9, t...

247Sports • 11th October 2024

'On to the next': Illinois volleyball looking to gain B1G momentum with Michigan trip

Illinois volleyball is looking to break a two-year NCAA Tournament drought, and early metrics seem to favor their odds despite a 1-3 start to Big Ten play.

Last week, the season's first RPI rankings were released, and Illinois (9-5, 1-3 Big Ten) came in at No. 26. It's still very early for the results-based rating system to matter, but it does prove that Illinois' 14-game slate to open the season has been one of the toughest in the nation.

Of Illinois' five losses, four come to opponents ranke...

247Sports • 5th October 2024

‘Happy with the play, not happy with the loss’: Illini VB looks to shake three-match B1G skid against Wildcats

After cruising to its best start in six years, Illinois volleyball has lost nine straight sets in three straight matches. The dip in form lines up with arguably the toughest portion of Illinois' schedule to date.

All three losses come to teams currently ranked in the AVCA Top 25, making even losses a potential gain when the RPI eventually becomes a factor. RPI, one of the deciding factors in entry to the field of 64 to the NCAA Tournament – which was a hot topic among Big Ten coache...

247Sports • 27th September 2024

Illini VB heads west to start B1G play with two tough tests: 'Every match is gonna feel like a playoff match'

Illinois volleyball carries an 8-2 record heading into Big Ten play, the most wins the program has taken from nonconference play since going 8-3 in 2021 — which happens to be the last time they played postseason volleyball.

But the Illini's no-conference schedule has a big detail worth pointing out: Illinois played just one match at home while four were on true road matches and five were neutral-site matches. The Illini were truly tested away from Huff Hall, which serves as good preparation as...

247Sports • 19th September 2024

Northwestern transfer Averie Hernandez feeling right at home with Illini volleyball

When Averie Hernandez made her orange-and-blue debut earlier this month with a team-leading 12-kill performance, some keen-eyed Illinois volleyball fans at Huff Hall may have recognized her from when she was fitted in purple and white on the court.

After that four-set victory over the Redbirds, Hernandez chuckled while recalling a pre-game conversation with her mother.

"I laughed earlier because my mom texted me and was like, 'First time playing at Huff!' and I was like, 'Not reall...

247Sports • 13th September 2024

Illini volleyball looks to build on 6-0 start with toughest tests to date: 'Definitely a good test for us'

Where were you in 2018? 'God's Plan' and 'Perfect' were two of the biggest songs that year, and 'Avengers: Infinity War' topped the box office if that helps to get a grasp.  Also, Illinois men's basketball was still two years away from its first postseason under Brad Underwood, and Lovie Smith was a third-year head coach at Illinois.

Well, Illinois volleyball is 6-0 for the first time since six years ago when radio listeners – remember the radio? – couldn't escape Drake and Ed Sheeran.

The Ill...

247Sports • 12th September 2024

Club teammates, freshmen Laynie Smith, Ashlyn Philpot spark Illini VB's hot start

Imagine playing the sport that you love at the high school level and receiving offers from college coaches nationwide. You receive an offer from a school in a conference you've always wanted to play in. Then imagine that soon after you committed, one of your closest friends and teammates tells you that they've committed to the same school as you. Then imagine you go on to have immediate success as true freshmen at that school.

That's pretty unreal, right? Like a daytime television script.

Well...

247Sports • 5th September 2024

Illini volleyball enters monthlong road stretch after 3-0 start: 'We're gonna be in some tough environments'

Illinois volleyball is out to a 3-0 start to its season for the first time since 2021 – the season the team went 22-12 and reached the Sweet Sixteen.

Now in his eighth season in Champaign, head coach Chris Tamas is looking to guide the Illinois ship back toward a postseason berth, and a 3-0 start following a sweep of the Best Western Invitational and a four-set win over Illinois State (25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 25-18) in Tuesday's home opener is an encouraging start.

But Tamas and his team won't be...

247Sports • 3rd September 2024

Freshmen help Illini volleyball sweep first weekend, aim for 3-0 start in home opener vs. ISU

Week One was a quick, dominant, almost spotless start to the 2024 season for the Illinois volleyball squad. The Illini went 2-0 at the Best Western Invitational in Bowling Green (Ohio) with a pair of 3-0 sweeps of Cincinnati and Bowling Green. Chris Tamas' squad's closest set was a four-point win.

That success can partly be owed to the team's two freshman stars, Ashlyn Philpot and Laynie Smith. The former club teammates started both matches and seem to have worked their way toward the top of th...

247Sports • 25th August 2024

2024 Illini volleyball season preview: New-look, new-feel Illini have eyes set on bouncing back

CHAMPAIGN — After not hitting expectations in 2023 with a fifth consecutive finish outside the top-five in the Big Ten and a third missed NCAA Tournament in four years, Chris Tamas' Illinois volleyball team is looking to bounce back in a big way.

The Illini are 31-29 over the past two seasons, and the Big Ten, which was already regarded as the toughest volleyball conference in the nation, added four tough Pac-12 programs: USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Two of them join five 'original' Big Te...