Illini Play Host to #11 Purdue, Michigan at Huff Hall

Matches 18+19 // Illinois Plays #11 Purdue on Friday, Michigan on Saturday
Match 18: #11 Purdue	Friday, Oct. 24 | 7 p.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | B1G+ | Radio | Live Stats
Match 19: Michigan	Saturday, Oct. 25 | 7 p.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | B1G+ | Radio | Live Stats
Buy Tickets	Purdue | Michigan
Rosters	Illinois | Purdue | Michigan
Printable Notes	Illinois
Series History	Purdue: ILL leads, 52-46; Last Match: ILL gained, 3-1, on 9/28/2025; Streak: W1 Michigan: ILL leads, 54-27; Last Match: ILL gained, 3-0, on 10/11/24; Streak: W3
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Promotions	Purdue: Hail to the Orange Out – Paint the Hall orange! Fans are inspired to put on orange to the match | Giveaway – 3,000 orange rally towels Michigan: Toga Party – Be certain to put on your togas to the match! The first 200 college students to reach in a toga get a FREE gold olive department crown!
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MATCHES 18+19

The Fighting Illini return to Champaign on a five-match profitable streak forward of matchups towards #11 Purdue and Michigan. Illinois hosts the Boilermakers on Friday at 7 p.m. after defeating Purdue away from house earlier this season, whereas the Illini will tackle the Wolverines for the primary time this season on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Both matches from Huff Hall will stream on B1G+.

LAST TIME OUT

The Fighting Illini closed its four-match street swing with a sweep towards Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Oct. 19.

Illinois prolonged its profitable streak to 5 matches and improved to 7-1 in convention play with a 12-5 total mark.

Taylor de Boer tallied a team-high 14 kills, her eighth straight effort with 10+ kills. She additionally made two digs whereas main the workforce in kills for the thirteenth time this season.

Alyssa Aguayo posted her third consecutive outing in double figures with 12 kills and a career-best .423 hitting proportion. She additionally crammed the stat sheet with seven digs, 4 assists, three blocks, and an ace.

Auburn Tomkinson amassed six kills, three digs, and two blocks, whereas Ashlyn Philpot added six kills, two digs, and two blocks, together with a solo stuff.

Kenna Phelan recorded 31 assists, eight digs, 4 kills, and an ace. Averie Hernandez completed with two aces, whereas Kenzie Cogan collected eight digs. Kayla Burbage notched 4 kills and 4 blocks.

OPPONENT SCOUT

Purdue comes into Friday’s contest with a document of 15-3, with the Boilermakers posting ranked wins towards Big Ten opponents UCLA, USC, and Indiana already this season. The Boilermakers additionally acquired an enormous win towards #10 SMU on Sept. 14. The Boilermakers and the Fighting Illini have already seen one another as soon as this season on Sept. 28, when Illinois defeated Purdue in West Lafayette, 3-1. Purdue seems to be to remain excellent on the street with a document of 7-0 coming into Champaign.

Purdue returned eight gamers from a season in the past whereas additionally reloading by way of the switch portal and its 2025 freshman class. Junior setter Taylor Anderson returns after having an excellent 12 months within the 2024 season through which she ended with 1,327 assists. So far this season, she has already amassed 718 assists. Another main piece they get again is junior Kenna Wollard. Wollard ended with 150 kills final 12 months and has taken a serious bounce this 12 months with 317 kills.

The Boilermakers’ solely three losses this 12 months have come to #23 Georgia Tech, Illinois, and #1 Nebraska.

Purdue is led by Dave Shondell, who has been with the Boilermakers for 23 seasons. Shondell is the all-time winningest head coach in program historical past. He can also be a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and was named the 2021 Northeast Region Coach of the Year and the 2011 Mideast Region Coach of the Year.

Michigan enters the weekend with a document of 12-7, together with large wins towards #10 Minnesota and Iowa. The Wolverines come into Saturday’s match with an away document of 3-5. 

The Wolverines introduced again 13 gamers from a season in the past whereas additionally reloading by way of the switch portal and its 2025 recruiting class. Junior Morgan Burke is a key piece for this Michigan workforce. After accumulating 1,168 assists in 2024, she has 487 assists to date this 12 months. Another piece returning for the Wolverines is grad pupil Allison Jacobs. Last 12 months, Jacobs totaled 335 kills; to date this 12 months she has 271 kills.

Michigan began off their season very popular with a document of 6-0. The Wolverines have misplaced 4 out of their final 5, although, so they are going to come to Champaign seeking to get again into the win column.

Michigan is led by Illinois volleyball alum Erin Virtue, who’s in her third season on the helm of the Wolverine program. Virtue was with the Wolverines from 2011-2015 as their recruiting and offensive coordinator. She served because the offensive coordinator and setters coach for the Women’s National Team that earned a gold medal on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a silver medal within the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Virtue returns to her alma mater on Saturday, competing at Illinois from 2001-04. Guiding the Illini to a spot within the Sweet 16 in 2003, she was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and secured honorable point out AVCA All-America accolades following her junior season.  

SERIES HISTORY

Heading into the 99th all-time assembly between Illinois and Purdue, the Illini maintain a 52-46 document towards the Boilermakers for the reason that sequence started again in 1974. Purdue has gained 4 of the final six matchups, however Illinois gained the newest contest with a win this 12 months on Sept. 28 in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers will attempt to defeat Illinois in Champaign for the primary time since Sept. 30, 2022.

Ahead of the 82nd all-time assembly between Illinois and Michigan, the Fighting Illini are 54-27 towards the Wolverines for the reason that sequence started again in 1976. Illinois has gained 4 of the final 5 matchups, together with every of the final three. Michigan is in search of its first street win over Illinois since Nov. 1, 2019.

TOP-10 ROAD WIN

Illinois secured its first ranked victory of the season with a four-set street triumph at #10 Purdue on Sept. 28 within the workforce’s first convention street match of the season.

In entrance of a hostile crowd at Mackey Arena, the Orange and Blue’s victory marked their first overcome a top-10 opponent since 2021, whereas the Illini improved to 2-0 in convention play for the primary time since 2022.

Ashlyn Philpot collected 12 kills, together with the ultimate level of the afternoon to seal the victory. Hitting at a .429 clip, she additionally notched 4 blocks and accounted for the Illini’s ultimate three kills of the day. 

Alyssa Aguayo and Auburn Tomkinson additionally ended the afternoon with double-digit kills. Aguayo amassed 11 kills, 5 digs, 4 assists, and a block, whereas Tomkinson tallied 11 kills and added a career-high 5 blocks and a dig.

Taylor de Boer led the Illini in kills as soon as once more, ending with 17. She additionally logged a block and a dig.

Defensively, Taryn Kirsch totaled a career-high 21 digs alongside her 5 assists, whereas Kenna Phelan posted her fourth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 10 digs.

DE BOER EARNS 2025 ATHLETESCAN TRUE SPORT AWARD

Illinois redshirt sophomore Taylor de Boer was acknowledged on the 2025 Canadian Sport Awards as this 12 months’s recipient of the AthletesCAN True Sport Award.

The True Sport Award acknowledges an inspirational Canadian citizen who exemplifies true sport values of equity, excellence, inclusion, and enjoyable in a significant manner. Through the pursuit of sporting excellence this Canadian hero showcases dedication, perseverance, sportsmanship, respect for others, and a real love of sport.

A local of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, de Boer was honored for her perseverance and resilience all through her battle with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis, a uncommon autoimmune illness that assaults the kidneys, joints, lungs, and different small vessels. Diagnosed previous to her first season with the Fighting Illini in 2023, de Boer had simply returned from being a workforce captain for Canada’s U19 workforce on the Pan American Cup.

Only 17 years outdated on the time of her analysis in the summertime of 2023, she spent the following month in essential care on the OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria. She used her time within the hospital to become involved with Uplifting Athletes, which raises consciousness and funds for uncommon ailments. Continuing her work as she continued her remedy and restoration, she was tabbed a Rare Disease Champion by the group.

Other finalists for this 12 months’s award included Eric Furtado-Rodrigues (Wheelchair Rugby) and Ruby Stevens (Para Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby).

PHELAN GOOD

Kenna Phelan was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on Sept. 29 after main the Fighting Illini to a 2-0 week with wins towards [RV] Oregon and at #10 Purdue.

Phelan averaged 9.4 assists/set and a pair of.4 digs/set over the course of the two-match weekend, totaling 66 assists, 17 digs, two kills, two aces, and a block. She tallied 27 assists whereas making seven digs and tacking on an ace and a block within the Illini’s towards the Ducks. Two days later, in her first profession Big Ten street match, Phelan recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 10 digs towards the #10-ranked Boilermakers. She additionally added two kills and an ace because the Orange and Blue earned their first top-10 victory since 2021.

She turned the primary Illini to safe Big Ten Setter of the Week honors since Diana Brown in 2021.

IMMEDIATE IMPACTS

Freshman Alyssa Aguayo averaged 2.90 kills, 3.40 factors, 2.10 digs, and 0.46 blocks per set throughout her 63 units of motion whereas beginning all 17 matches. Also totaling six double-doubles up to now, she turned the primary Illini true freshman with 10+ kills of their first six collegiate matches since 2016, when Jacqueline Quade additionally had 10+ kills in her first six matches.

Fellow freshman Taryn Kirsch has donned the libero jersey throughout the Illini’s first 17 matches, marking the workforce’s first freshman starter on the place since 2023. Kirsch leads the Illini in digs, averaging 3.08 digs/set, and set a career-high with 21 digs within the Illini’s four-set win at #10 Purdue.

Auburn Tomkinson, a redshirt sophomore, has made an instantaneous influence at Illinois after transferring from Texas, the place she spent her first two seasons however didn’t play. The California native has 10+ kills in six matches, together with a career-high 17 kills at Maryland on Oct. 10.

Kenna Phelan stepped into the Illini’s beginning setter spot after enjoying her first two seasons at Florida State. She has logged 5 double-doubles, is averaging 9.84 assists/set, and has at the least one block in 13 of Illinois’ 17 matches regardless of standing at 5-foot-7. With her 43 assists and 21 digs at Ohio State, Phelan turned the primary Illini with a 40-assist, 20-dig double-double since 2017.

FINE NINE

The Illinois volleyball workforce added 9 newcomers for the 2025 season. Auburn Tomkinson, Taryn Kirsch, Devin Dzienny, Gabriella Pitcel, Kenna Phelan, Sophi Randall, Alyssa Aguayo, Ava Wysocki, and Lara Žigic all joined the roster through the offseason. Tomkinson and Phelan have earlier collegiate expertise at Texas and Florida State, respectively. Dzienny was an early enrollee at Florida earlier than making her approach to Champaign.

OH, CANADA

Redshirt sophomore Taylor de Boer represented her house nation of Canada at each the U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup and the Senior Pan American Cup in Mexico over the summer time.

De Boer and Canada claimed the silver medal on the U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup. The U23 Canadian workforce, making its first-ever look within the Women’s U23 Pan American Cup ultimate, fell to the United States within the ultimate. The workforce’s second-place end was Canada’s greatest ever within the competitors, and it additionally served because the squad’s first-ever medal.

LAND OF LINCOLN

The Illini squad options 4 gamers from the state of Illinois. Bianca May (Orland Park), Averie Hernandez (Bloomington), Vivian Campbell (Oswego), and Ava Wysocki (Kildeer) all hail from the Land of Lincoln.

AS SEEN ON TV

The Illini will likely be featured on nationwide tv 9 instances this season. The workforce’s street matches at Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota will air on Big Ten Network. The Illini’s house clashes towards Iowa State and Penn State can even be proven on BTN. Contests at Nebraska and UCLA will likely be proven on FS1. The inaugural Broadway Block Party match towards Vanderbilt aired on SEC Network, whereas Illinois battled #3 Louisville on the street on ESPN.

HEAD COACH CHRIS TAMAS AT THE HELM

The eighth head coach in Illinois historical past, Tamas has made a formidable influence on Illinois volleyball and owns an total document of 161-99 (.619), together with a 97-69 (.584) mark within the nation’s hardest volleyball league, the Big Ten, in addition to 5 NCAA Tournament appearances, together with three NCAA Regional appearances and a visit to the Final Four in 2018. 

Tamas earned his a hundredth profession win – with all 100 coming on the helm of the Illini program – after main Illinois to its third journey to the Sweet 16 in 5 seasons after back-to-back wins to open the 2021 NCAA event, together with a four-set win over 2020-21 nationwide champion and #7 seed Kentucky in Lexington. His a hundred and fiftieth profession victory got here towards Vanderbilt on the Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party on Aug. 31.

Illinois skilled considered one of its most profitable seasons ever in 2018 beneath Tamas, who was subsequently named AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. 

The Illini made this system’s fourth-ever look within the NCAA National Semifinals because the #3 total seed within the event, using a 17-match win streak into the Final Four and ending the season ranked #3 within the AVCA Coaches Poll. The workforce registered a 32-4 total document and completed in second place within the Big Ten with a 17-3 mark, with the 32 victories rating tied for fourth-most in class historical past.

Under Tamas’ management, the Illini collected quite a lot of particular person honors, highlighted by AVCA All-America First Team alternatives in Jordyn Poulter and Jacqueline Quade, the primary time in program historical past Illinois had a number of first-team honorees in a season.