Illinois 2024

[illinivbfan1992]

Landmark for Raina today!  I've had my eye on her drive toward the career kills lead. But meanwhile, she passed the Illini career total points record today:

fightingillini.com/news/2024/10/27/volleyball-terry-earns-all-time-points-record-in-triumph-at-iowa.aspx

The relevant excerpt:

"Raina Terry paced the Illini with 18 kills. Her 22.5 points in the match gave her 2,311.5 for her career, a new record for the program. The Ohio native also became the third Big Ten player to achieve 200 aces in the rally scoring era."

As for the kills, if I've kept track right, she's at 1,958 -- 14 away from Birks' 1,972.  Good chance she breaks that on the road at Northwestern. 

[Chewblocka]

Decent win yesterday! Gotta give credit where it’s due—we executed well, even if it was against a team that’s not exactly a powerhouse. Tough not to get the sweep, but hey, Iowa didn’t make it easy for us. I’ll spare you another rant on substitutions and development—I’ve beaten that dead horse enough this season. But hey, it was nice to see TdB make a quick cameo, even if it was over in the blink of an eye. The pins were solid with some decent stats and Avery found the floor with this team. And can we just appreciate Smith’s sneak attacks? Those surprises keep opponents guessing every time!

Huge shoutout to Miss Terry for hitting the 200 ace milestone—what a way to make your mark! And yeah, I’m on board with more middles, please! Cari hasn’t been her usual self lately, and as ilalum92 said, it’s gotta be frustrating when you’re not getting the sets. We need to spread that offence around, especially when we start facing tougher competition. I have to say, I love watching Philpot—she’s such a talent with tons of potential! And Lily was in the zone, with some standout moments of her own. Also, a quick shoutout to CMM for her back-row leadership. Her energy and excitement are contagious—love seeing her hype up the team! That young lady is a spark of unbridled enthusiasm and I love that!

Anyone have thoughts on Brooks’ serve. When she dials down the power, it’s more reliable, but there are still way too many errors. I’m starting to think other teams are just chilling at the backline with their fingers crossed. Is this the classic high-risk, high-reward situation?

[pointillinois]

[ilalum92]

RPI futures: up 1 to 33
RPI : down a few to 25

Just have to play tough, maybe get an upset somewhere and we make the tourney this year.

[UofIlliniVBFan]

Illinois currently: BIG 6-4; Overall 14-6.

Upcoming opponents:
Nov 1 (Fri) 7 PM at Northwestern
Nov 3 (Sun) 1 PM at Huff

RPI Futures Rank. (last week rank) - Conference (projected wins-losses[rounded] - RPI Score - Strength of Schedule

Illinois:
Week 9 RPI Future: 33. (34) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6025 - 27
Week 8 RPI Future: 34. (39) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6005 - 27
Week 7 RPI Future: 39. (44) Illinois - Big Ten (18-12) - .5938 - 26
Week 6 RPI Future: 44. (48) Illinois - Big Ten (17-13) - .5862 - 16
Week 5 RPI Future: 48. (30) Illinois - Big Ten (17-13) - .5815 - 20
Week 3 RPI Future: 30. (41) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6013 - 33
Week 2 RPI Future: 41. (77) Illinois - Big Ten (18-12) - .5896 - 32
Week 1 RPI Future: 77. (96) Illinois - Big Ten (14-16) - .5538 - 30
Week 0 RPI Future: 96. Illinois - Big Ten (12-18) - .5342 - 27

BIG Ten:
2. (2) Nebraska - Big Ten (29-2) - .7257 - 7; Lost & Lost
6. (7) Penn State - Big Ten (28-3) - .6889 - 14
7. (9) Wisconsin - Big Ten (23-6) - .6826 - 5; at Huff
15. (15) Oregon - Big Ten (22-7) - .6450 - 16; Lost
16. (14) Purdue - Big Ten (24-7) - .6417 - 23
24. (18) Minnesota - Big Ten (20-10) - .6255 - 12; at Huff
27. (19) USC - Big Ten (19-11) - .6148 - 11; at Huff
33. (34) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6025 - 27
34. (33) Washington - Big Ten (20-10) - .6019 - 47; Lost
=====================================================
46. (45) UCLA - Big Ten (16-13) - .5802 - 36; at Huff
59. (61) Michigan - Big Ten (21-10) - .5710 - 96; Won
80. (73) Indiana - Big Ten (15-15) - .5582 - 35; Won & remaining away match
89. (83) Ohio State - Big Ten (13-17) - .5492 - 30; at Huff
105. (133) Michigan State - Big Ten (13-18) - .5381 - 39; Won
147. (143) Maryland - Big Ten (13-18) - .5148 - 70; Won
194. (183) Iowa - Big Ten (10-22) - .4917 - 71; Won
221. (212) Northwestern - Big Ten (6-22) - .4700 - 62; Won & remaining away match
234. (233) Rutgers - Big Ten (6-25) - .4617 - 67; at Huff

Pre-conference:
12. (12) Dayton - Atlantic 10 (28-1) - .6551 - 78; Lost
22. (27) Missouri - Southeastern (21-7) - .6311 - 32; Lost
====================================================================
54. (86) Western Kentucky - Conference USA (24-7) - .5727 - 163; Won
95. (94) Bowling Green - Mid-American (20-9) - .5479 - 139; Won

[pointillinois]

The USC and UCLA matches at Huff might determine our tournament bid.... assuming everything else goes as predicted.

[ilalum92]

Oct 29, 2024 7:12:34 GMT -5 UofIlliniVBFan said:

Illinois currently: BIG 6-4; Overall 14-6.

Upcoming opponents:
Nov 1 (Fri) 7 PM at Northwestern
Nov 3 (Sun) 1 PM at Huff

RPI Futures Rank. (last week rank) - Conference (projected wins-losses[rounded] - RPI Score - Strength of Schedule

Illinois:
Week 9 RPI Future: 33. (34) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6025 - 27
Week 8 RPI Future: 34. (39) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6005 - 27
Week 7 RPI Future: 39. (44) Illinois - Big Ten (18-12) - .5938 - 26
Week 6 RPI Future: 44. (48) Illinois - Big Ten (17-13) - .5862 - 16
Week 5 RPI Future: 48. (30) Illinois - Big Ten (17-13) - .5815 - 20
Week 3 RPI Future: 30. (41) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6013 - 33
Week 2 RPI Future: 41. (77) Illinois - Big Ten (18-12) - .5896 - 32
Week 1 RPI Future: 77. (96) Illinois - Big Ten (14-16) - .5538 - 30
Week 0 RPI Future: 96. Illinois - Big Ten (12-18) - .5342 - 27

BIG Ten:
2. (2) Nebraska - Big Ten (29-2) - .7257 - 7; Lost & Lost
6. (7) Penn State - Big Ten (28-3) - .6889 - 14
7. (9) Wisconsin - Big Ten (23-6) - .6826 - 5; at Huff
15. (15) Oregon - Big Ten (22-7) - .6450 - 16; Lost
16. (14) Purdue - Big Ten (24-7) - .6417 - 23
24. (18) Minnesota - Big Ten (20-10) - .6255 - 12; at Huff
27. (19) USC - Big Ten (19-11) - .6148 - 11; at Huff
33. (34) Illinois - Big Ten (19-11) - .6025 - 27
34. (33) Washington - Big Ten (20-10) - .6019 - 47; Lost
=====================================================
46. (45) UCLA - Big Ten (16-13) - .5802 - 36; at Huff
59. (61) Michigan - Big Ten (21-10) - .5710 - 96; Won
80. (73) Indiana - Big Ten (15-15) - .5582 - 35; Won & remaining away match
89. (83) Ohio State - Big Ten (13-17) - .5492 - 30; at Huff
105. (133) Michigan State - Big Ten (13-18) - .5381 - 39; Won
147. (143) Maryland - Big Ten (13-18) - .5148 - 70; Won
194. (183) Iowa - Big Ten (10-22) - .4917 - 71; Won
221. (212) Northwestern - Big Ten (6-22) - .4700 - 62; Won & remaining away match
234. (233) Rutgers - Big Ten (6-25) - .4617 - 67; at Huff

Pre-conference:
12. (12) Dayton - Atlantic 10 (28-1) - .6551 - 78; Lost
22. (27) Missouri - Southeastern (21-7) - .6311 - 32; Lost
====================================================================
54. (86) Western Kentucky - Conference USA (24-7) - .5727 - 163; Won
95. (94) Bowling Green - Mid-American (20-9) - .5479 - 139; Won

Those Dayton/Missouri matches are really helping us. I wish we had the win versus Missouri.

[illinifan24]

Does anyone have access to our player’s current passer ratings? Curious to see if they’ve improved at all or not.

[oldmanvb]

Thanks, UofIlliniVBFan for putting the RPI information together.

We need at least one of the USC/UCLA matches as well as winning the other matches against teams with a worse RPI than ours.

I still have painful memories of the Indiana/Northwestern weekend to finish out last year. I understand we probably were not going to make the tournament even if we won both matches, but having the slim hope extinguished by playing such uninspired volleyball was tough to watch. Hopefully there were some lessons learned.

Any word on either Sarah or Kayla being available at any point during the remainder of the season?

[brucks]

The North Carolina girls: fightingillini.com/news/2024/10/28/volleyball-immediate-impact-former-club-teammates-philpot-smith-find-success-at-illinois.aspx

[ilalum92]

Oct 29, 2024 13:22:34 GMT -5 brucks said:

The North Carolina girls: fightingillini.com/news/2024/10/28/volleyball-immediate-impact-former-club-teammates-philpot-smith-find-success-at-illinois.aspx

Great article. Both will be big stars in the Big 100865!

[exit237a]

Better late than never!  Here's our thread for Friday's match between Illinois and Northwestern:

Illinois at Northwestern | Friday, Nov 1 - 7 PM CT | BTN+

[pointillinois]

Washington beating Oregon means they most likely leap over us. Man, the margin is razor thin. Cannot afford any missteps against one of these lower teams.

[inpaign]

Oct 31, 2024 5:34:05 GMT -5 pointillinois said:

Washington beating Oregon means they most likely leap over us. Man, the margin is razor thin. Cannot afford any missteps against one of these lower teams.

Agree! On the contrary, I believe Washington is the lowest RPI team we've lost to. Their win against Oregon should give them a boost, maybe indirectly helping our resume as well? All 6 of our losses being against top 25-30 RPI teams certainly can't hurt us too much!

[maigrey]

Oct 31, 2024 10:07:02 GMT -5 inpaign said:

Oct 31, 2024 5:34:05 GMT -5 pointillinois said:

Washington beating Oregon means they most likely leap over us. Man, the margin is razor thin. Cannot afford any missteps against one of these lower teams.

Agree! On the contrary, I believe Washington is the lowest RPI team we've lost to. Their win against Oregon should give them a boost, maybe indirectly helping our resume as well? All 6 of our losses being against top 25-30 RPI teams certainly can't hurt us too much!

considering opponent win % is 50% of the RPI score, it will definitely help.