Illinois 2024

[illinifan24]

I guess shouldn’t be too mad losing to a great team especially since we looked much better than last weekend. Slightly frustrated because that felt oddly winnable. I thought we outplayed them in a lot of aspects except the same serve receive issues we have noticed all year.

[vball778]

You know it’s bad when we all just wanted a good Libero and we finally got one and STILL cannot manage to improve our serve receive with everyone else.

[Chewblocka]

This game was a real rollercoaster—plenty of highs, plenty of lows, and in the end, we managed to roll right off the tracks into our usual flat finish. Honestly, it’s like the coaching staff has made a pact with mediocrity: ‘Why aim higher when we can just, you know, not?’ Looking at the last few years, it’s clear they’ve decided that changing anything would be way too radical. Tamas’ interview was a classic—left me shaking my head, and even the announcer was wondering, ‘Adjustments? What are those?’
On the bright side, Taylor looked strong in the warm-ups (too bad warm-ups don’t count), and it was great to see Lily pick up some big digs. And Moser? Gotta give it to her—solid defensive moments. But then, consistency reared its ugly head again. Hitting and serving—both need a total reboot, like yesterday. Honestly, I didn’t expect us to win tonight; I just hoped we’d hang with the big dogs for a bit. And in a way, we kind of did, if you squint really hard. But then I hear Tamas say he’s “happy” with how we’re playing… Wait, really? I thought I misheard, but nope. Happy with this? We’ve had three straight sweeps in a row, and somehow that’s worth celebrating? Between the inconsistency and those on-again, off-again streaks, it’s like we’re stuck in a bad relationship, and we’re the only ones trying to make it work. So, is this blind optimism, arrogance, or are we just in denial? Hitting .103 in the third set—just enough to make us a ‘dangerous’ .217 overall. Watch out, volleyball world, here we come!

[Chewblocka]

Oct 3, 2024 19:52:03 GMT -5 oldmanvb said:

Depressing how quickly fans from different programs all over the country watching the national telecast realized our passing is horrible. We played tough, tougher than I expected, we just don’t have the tools to compete at this level.

I think that is what I am starting to come to the realization about oldmanvb . Energy in Huff started strong but fizzed out quickly. It’s almost like we already know what the outcome will be so why wait till the end :-/ . This team is like trying to drive a car stuck in the mud—you keep pressing the gas pedal, the wheels keep spinning, and you end up splattering mud everywhere, but you never actually get anywhere. No matter how much effort you put in, if you don’t change the approach, you’re just making a mess without making any progress. 

[gopherhim]

(Sorry to interject. I come in peace!)

The At the Net B1G special about Bohm came on after the Oregon/Ohio State match and it’s the first I’ve seen it. Crying into my pesto and fusilli now 😭😭

So happy Cari is with a program where she feels comfortable being herself! It was what Raina said that got me. The support and allyship from teammates is awesome to see. It’s never been a struggle for me to root for the Illini, but it just got easier 🫶

[UofIlliniVBFan]

"It’s almost like we already know what the outcome will be ....."

2022 BIG 10-10; Season 15-15
2023 BIG 11-9; Season 16-14

[bops68]

The outcome is what I expected but as others have said they played better than I expected.....at times. It was a strange match. We hung around but you just never felt like we were going to pull it out. We made Nebraska work for spurts but most of the time it didn't seem like Nebraska had to work that hard to close us out. They didn't have Jackson or Krause either. Well Krause replaced Landfair in the third. Honestly when we made our little runs it was against Landfair and Blackwell and Landfair didn't look like the Landfair from Minny at all which probably explains why she hasn't been playing.

Our serve receive is just bad. They almost exclusively targeted Barry when she was in. She just doesn't look comfortable at all passing. Stiff, lunging at times, jumping at times, out of position. I will give her credit she had some great digs tonight which shows there is potential but their just appears to be no coaching.

I have been vocal about this coaching staff for awhile now but have tried to just keep quiet this year but I just feel like Illinois volleyball should just be way better than this. As others have said there is just no adjustments and the roster management is head scratching to say the least. If the DS we have on the bench aren't better than what we are putting out there that is concerning. We currently have one hitter available on our bench.....one.....is it just bad luck year after year after year with injuries or is it something with training.....you need depth.

I will say I love the two freshmen and they ooze potential. They just need some more development, like Smith needs to learn you won't be able to hit everything straight down....but development doesn't seem to be a strong point of this staff.

If what people have said about Tamas being one of the upper echelon paid college coaches we definitely aren't getting our return on investment.

[Chewblocka]

My son-in-laws prediction for game versus NW and rationale. Since he is not a Vter I will post this for our digestion. He is looking at this from an objective stats perspective (let’s hope he is wrong).

Illinois vs NW - NW for the Win:

“Hitting Efficiency: Northwestern has better hitting efficiency across their key players compared to Illinois. Alexa Rousseau is hitting at .286, and Kennedy Hill at .333, while Illinois’ main offensive contributors, Terry (.095) and Averie Hernandez (.101), are struggling significantly with efficiency. The ability of Northwestern to consistently convert attacks into points gives them a clear edge offensively. Offensive Reliability: Northwestern’s top attackers, Rousseau (3.38 PTS/SET) and Hazan (3.19 PTS/SET), are both delivering solid point production, while their hitting percentages are more reliable than those of Illinois. On the other hand, Terry, despite leading with 4.50 PTS/SET, is hitting with a very low efficiency, which means a high number of attempts are being wasted with errors or ineffective swings. Consistency in Key Areas: Northwestern’s offensive balance seems to be more effective, with multiple players contributing consistently (e.g., Rousseau, Hazan, and Hill). Illinois relies heavily on Terry, who has been inconsistent and inefficient in her overall hitting in conference so far. Northwestern’s distribution of points among multiple players means they are less predictable and can adapt more easily during the game. Better Defensive Setup and Conversion: Northwestern’s players like Lauren Carter and Buse Hazan have more significant defensive stats, suggesting that they might be more capable of transitioning effectively from defence to offence. While Illinois has solid defenders at times, the offensive conversions following defensive plays have not been as efficient as Northwestern’s. Service Game: Illinois has some contributors in the service game, notably Terry with 5 aces (0.56 ACE/SET), but this has come with a higher number of errors as well. Northwestern appears to be steadier overall in serving, which can be a key factor in maintaining momentum during tight sets. Overall I think NW if they play well have the ability to take this from Illinois for the reasons noted above”.

[Chewblocka]

Oct 3, 2024 19:58:11 GMT -5 illinifan24 said:

I guess shouldn’t be too mad losing to a great team especially since we looked much better than last weekend. Slightly frustrated because that felt oddly winnable. I thought we outplayed them in a lot of aspects except the same serve receive issues we have noticed all year.

I know it was such a teaser as I actually was on the edge of my seat tonight thinking several times “Oh my goodness, we could win this” then Nebraska stepped up in an overly calm way to take it away from us.  :-[

[ilalum92]

I only got to see the 1st set and was surprised we played that well. The SE in Game 1 killed us. Had we served it in, we might have had a chance. Reading the comments I can see our serve receive did us in for the rest of the match. If we lose to NW, I'm out for the rest of the season.

[vbkahuna]

I'm with exit237a in NOT being in the "woe is us" vote. I saw much more good than bad in this match. I've watched most of Nebraska's matches this year (as well as most of the Top 10 teams), so I have a different perspective of how well Illinois looked matching up against Nebraska. Frankly, even given the continuing serve-receive issues (which I believe could have been better if Barnes had been available to play DS the last 3 matches), they looked at least as competitive as Stanford or Louisville did when they got brutalized by Nebraska (-11,-22,-14 and -16,-17,-20).

Illinois went 8-2 in preseason. If they go 11-9 in league play, as they did last year, they'll be 19-11 for the year. I think I'll wait and see how this plays out.

[exit237a]

Hey Illini faithful!  Here's a thread for Sunday afternoon's match between Illinois and Northwestern:

Northwestern at Illinois | Sunday, Oct 6 - 1 PM CT | BTN+

[ilalum92]

Anyone with any intel on if we have any more potential recruits for 2026?

[oldmanvb]

Any word on Caroline’s availability for Sunday?

[oldmanvb]

Any word on Caroline’s availability for Sunday?