Illinois Fighting Illini2023 Record: 16-14
Conference Record: 11-9 (T-6th)
NCAA Tournament Placement: N/A
Final AVCA Ranking: NR
Head Coach: Chris Tamas (8th season at Illinois)
Record at Illinois: 131-81
| Returning Starters | Departures
* - 2023 Starter
() - Transfer Destination | New Additions
() - Transfer Origin |
Caroline Barnes - SR - 5'11 DS/L
Lily Barry - SO - 5'6 DS/L
Cari Bohm - R-SO - 6'4 MB
Kayla Burbage - SR - 6'4 RS
Brooke Mosher - R-JR - 6'0 S
Raina Terry - SR+ - 6'3 OH | Kennedy Collins* - 6'3 MB
Maya Imoto-Eakin - R-FR - 5'9 S (Hawai'i Hilo)
Maddie Llewellyn - JR - 5'7 DS/L [No longer on roster]
Jessica Nunge* - 6'2 OH
Vanessa Pan* - 5'7 DS/L
Sophie Stephenson - JR - 6'2 OH (Loyola Marymount) | Vivian Campbell - SO - 5'10 S (Cincinnati)
Kenzie Cogan - FR - 5'7 DS/L
Averie Hernandez - JR - 6'2 OH/RS (Northwestern)
Christina Martinez Mundo - SR+ - 5'6 DS/L (Eastern Illinois)
Ashlyn Philpot - FR - 6'4 MB
Christine Pullen - FR - 5'6 DS/L
Raegan Reilly - SR - 5'10 S (South Dakota State)
Laynie Smith - FR - 6'3 OH/RS |
Illinois rode a way of ups and downs to a .500 season in 2022. The Fighting Illini failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the second time in Chris Tamas's head coaching tenure, which began in 2017.
2023 started with more of these highs and lows. After taking down NIU and Valparaiso, Illinois suffered a home loss to Wichita State. This was the first blemish in a non-conference slate that featured plenty of nearby opponents and little travel.
Illinois escaped tests from Illinois State and UIC before falling in straight sets at Notre Dame. The Irish Invitational was not kind to the orange-clad visitors, who suffered another sweep against Oklahoma.
Conference rival Purdue hosted the Boilermaker Challenge, where Illinois would face its toughest tests of the pre-conference schedule. This weekend was characterized by missed opportunities with the Fighting Illini falling in five sets to USC and UCF. Illinois's final non-conference tally was 5-5, dredging up fears of another 0.500 season.
A crucial contest awaited Illinois in the conference opener. The Hoosiers and Fighting Illini were two groups looking for an early spark after early-season disappointments. Indiana took advantage with a four-set win as Illinois dipped below 0.500.
Late September and early October were rough times for the Fighting Illini. Illinois lost five of its first seven Big Ten contests, including a three-match losing streak to Purdue, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.
Suddenly, hope emerged in Champaign. The Illini followed this rut by keying up a six-match winning streak. Mind you, this was not a winning streak full of rousing victories and dominant performances. Illinois was triumphant in three straight five-set matches against Maryland, Rutgers, and the aforementioned Hoosiers. The Illini scored their best win of the season with an Oct. 28 takedown of Purdue at Huff Hall.
Illinois had climbed back into the plus side in the W-L metric. However, the team still needed more monumental upsets to get anywhere near the tournament bubble.
That didn't happen. Illinois came up short against Wisconsin and Nebraska. The Fighting Illini burned out in the final weekend with two unsightly sweep losses at Minnesota and Northwestern. 16-14 was the final mark, and Illinois was left out of the tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006-07.
2023 Lineup:Aside from some early injuries and unusual circumstances, Illinois had a very predictable lineup in 2023.
The focal point of the offense was still senior outside hitter Raina Terry. The Ohio native entered the starting lineup as soon as she became a Fighting Illini in 2020. Terry recorded back-to-back seasons with over 440 kills in 2021 and 2022, but her senior season precipitated even more ridiculous numbers. No Big Ten attacker took more swings per set than Terry. She ranked third nationally in that metric and converted on 539 of her 1,500-plus swings. Illinois found every way possible to set their six-rotation L2.
Illinois had another returning start at the other outside hitter position, but that wasn't always the plan. Veteran attacker Jessica Nunge had initially decided against using her fifth year of eligibility after an injury-riddled 2022 season. However, she reversed course and joined the squad just as the regular season started. Nunge needed a few weeks before she was ready to get back in the frontcourt, but she eventually became the regular starter at L1. She carried a solid serving role but only hit 0.134 on the year.
Nunge's return gave Illinois an entirely familiar set of pins with Kayla Burbage coming back at opposite. Burbage claimed the right pin in 2022 after transferring from Missouri. She was thrust into some left-side hitter reps while Nunge was absent. And, like Nunge, efficiency became the primary struggle with Burbage only hitting 0.162.
The middle blocker position was a medley of new and old. Illinois's M1 was graduate student Kennedy Collins, who embarked on her fifth year as a starter. Collins set a career-best hitting efficiency with a 0.347 average in her final season. She was also a persistent serving weapon--as were most of the Illini contributors.
Redshirt freshman Cari Bohm occupied the M2 spot. Bohm anchored an Illinois block that finished mid-pack in the Big Ten. The biggest pitfall from this position was Bohm's lack of offensive contributions, as she averaged well under a kill per set throughout 2023--or just 93 total kills.
As expected, the starting setter job went to redshirt sophomore Brooke Mosher. However, Mosher's path to this role was unorthodox. She spent most of 2022 playing as a left-side hitter and eclipsed 200 kills in her first year of on-court action. Mosher was recruited as a setter and finally took the reins last year. Her jump-spin serve is notable, too.
Junior libero Caroline Barnes led the backcourt unit. Barnes earned immediate DS reps in her freshman year and seized the contrasting jersey in 2022. Illinois played without Barnes for the first handful of matches in 2023, allowing true freshman Lily Barry to earn early libero experience.
When Barnes returned to the lineup, Barry was the DS for the L1. Illinois used defensive specialists for two of its pins, leaving only Terry to work around the dial. Columbia graduate transfer Vanessa Pan subbed in for Burbage at opposite. The Fighting Illini finished 12th in the Big Ten in digs per set, and passing was usually a struggle.
---2024 Projected Lineup:A couple of major lineup question marks will dictate how far Illinois goes this season.
The first area of interest is at middle blocker—particularly the M1 position. Collins departs after a long tenure at that spot. Bohm is back on the other side of the rotation, but her attacking struggles will likely preclude her from sliding over to M1. Keep her at M2 for now.
This leaves with a new face at M1, and it might be a freshman. 2024 signee Ashlyn Philpot fits the M1 mold and could be thrust into a starting role right away. The other options are lurking on the bench. Redshirt junior Sarah Bingham has been in and out of the picture as a middle blocker and an opposite. Gabby Dean redshirted in her first season in Champaign.
Illinois’s second big unknown is at opposite. Burbage will evidently miss the 2024 season after a shoulder procedure. The answer at this spot could be another freshman and Philpot’s club teammate. Laynie Smith will compete for time on the right.
Smith’s primary challenger could be redshirt freshman Taylor De Boer, who presents further question marks. She missed the 2023 season after a serious medical condition, so her readiness for the Big Ten stage could be in doubt. The only other opposite option would likely be Bingham.
That’s a lot to ponder before our first mention of Terry. The all-Big Ten outside hitter is back for her fifth year and will see similar volume to her head-spinning 2023 output. Illinois will still live and die by the Terry Carry.
For a while, Illinois had another question mark at the other outside hitter spot across from Terry. This has seemingly been resolved through the addition of Northwestern transfer Averie Hernandez. The junior could play on either pin, but the left side seems far more likely. We're only left to wonder if Hernandez will play all the way around or give way to a DS.
Defensive specialist depth is adequate, so perhaps we'll see the latter. Barnes and Barry are back, leaving Pan as the only departure. She will presumably be replaced by Christina Martinez Mundo, an Eastern Illinois grad transfer and first-team all-OVC selection. Martinez Mundo will surely find playing time, but we'll see how much she shakes up the hierarchy among Illinois's returning duo.
Mosher is still the setter. She will likely be a prevalent attacking threat on the second contact to alleviate any growing pains in the middle. And keep an eye on that serve.
2024 Schedule:Cincinnati and Bowling Green offer two compelling tests to start the season. Given Illinois's recent history of upset losses in non-conference play, these two shouldn't be overlooked.
Illinois State helps usher in a new year at Huff Hall. From there, Illinois has another road invite with Toledo, Iowa State, and Wake Forest on the slate.
Dayton and Western Kentucky could bring the biggest non-conference challenge in Week 3. Missouri and Lipscomb close it out. This is generally a more interesting pre-conference schedule than Illinois has deployed in the last few years.
Interesting:
2024 Outlook:Will 2024 break the 0.500 trend, or are we bound to see more of the same?
Preseason polls don't offer much optimism with Illinois picked to finish 11th in the conference standings. The Illini would presumably not make any postseason campaigns from this far down.
The last two seasons have seen glimmers of hope counterbalanced by awful showings. In other words, Illinois has always had the talent to push the Big Ten's top teams, but a mixture of passing woes and inconsistent play have made it vulnerable against the conference's worst.
That could be the case again in 2024, but Illinois could still manage to produce more highs than lows. This is dependent upon the Fighting Illini finding two middles who can kill the ball and an opposite who can stabilize a position with little depth. The new starters will need to step up while also not getting hurt.
Perhaps the inspiration is there to produce something special in Terry's swan song season. After all, the team still runs through her. Terry must keep churning out kills for Illinois to climb the Big Ten ladder. She might need to find another gear if the Fighting Illini want to see the NCAA Tournament bubble.
