Preview: No. 1 Nebraska Volleyball vs. Illinois

Illinois Scout

Head Coach

Chris Tamas | 9th season at Illinois & as HC | 161-103 (.610) at Illinois & Career Record | 5x NCAA Tournament Appearances | AVCA Northeast Region Coach OTY (2018) | Previous assistant at Nebraska, Cal Poly, Minnesota and UC Riverside. 

2024 Finish

L, 3-1 vs. Northern Iowa in NCAA First Round.

2024 Record & Awards

18-13 (10-10 B1G, 8th) | All-Americans: 1x Third Team | Midwest All-Region: 1x First Team | B1G Coach & Freshman OTY | All-B1G: 1x First Team, 1x All-Freshman.

All-Time Series

Nebraska leads 36-8-1 (Oct. 25, 2024, last matchup, 3-0 NU) 

Returning Production 

Points: 41% | Kills: 41% | Service Aces: 17% | Blocks: 59% | Assists: 4% | Digs: 16%

Key Returners

• Taylor De Boer | OH/OPP | R-Soph. | Limited playing time in 2024, but has exploded to become the Illini's leading scorer at 4.01 points per set, including 286 kills.
• Ashlyn Philpot | MB | Soph. | Returning starter that was named to the 2024 All-Big Ten Freshman Team after leading Illinois with 126 total blocks and 1.11 per set.
• Averie Hernandez | OH/OPP | Sr. | Lethal serving sub for the Illini (24 aces) that transferred in from Northwestern after the 2023 season.
• Kayla Burbage | MB | Gr. | Did not play in a match in 2024, but has emerged as the team's best defensive blocker with a team-high 77 blocks while adding 1.79 kills per set.

Key Departures

• Raina Terry | OPP | Graduated | Three-time All-Big Ten First Team pick that was named a Third Team All-American after finishing with 504 kills (4.42 K/S) and 56 aces in her final college season.
• Laynie Smith | OH/OPP | Transfer | Moved back home and transferred to North Carolina after ranking third at Illinois in points (287) as a true freshman.
• Brooke Mosher | S | Transfer | Pulled away from Dan Fisher in the transfer portal to run the Pittsburgh offense after averaging 8.61 assists per set for Illinois in 2024.
• Christina Martinez Mundo | L/DS | Graduated | Paced the Illini with 3.54 digs per set as the team's libero after transferring from Eastern Illinois for her final college volleyball season.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

• Alyssa Aguayo | OH | Fr. | According to Prep Volleyball, a top 70 recruit that's second on Illinois in points (253.5), kills (218) and aces (21) while ranking third with 2.06 digs per set.
• Auburn Tomkinson | OPP | R-Soph. | Spent her first two seasons at Texas, including a national title in 2023, but did not see any action; averaging 2.22 kills per set in her debut season.
• Taryn Kirsch | L/DS | Sioux Falls native starts at libero for Illinois as a true freshman, recording 3.10 digs per set.
• Kenna Phelan | S | Jr. | Splitting time at setter at Florida State, Phelan arrived in Champaign from the transfer portal and has posted 9.70 assists per set in running the Illini offense with 21 aces, 190 digs (Both 2nd on Team) and 30 blocks.

Outlook

Reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 last season, Illinois was bounced in the first round by Northern Iowa, ending a season that saw the Illini have its worst finish in the Big Ten under head coach Chris Tamas (8th place).

Tamas and his staff were forced to plug in holes after some key contributors departed the program. Three-time All-Big Ten First Team pick Raina Terry graduated and joined the pro ranks after eclipsing 500 kills and 50 aces in a year that earned her AVCA Third Team All-America honors. Starting setter Brooke Mosher entered the transfer portal and was quickly grabbed by Pittsburgh to replace All-American Rachel Fairbanks to run the Panther offense. Laynie Smith was third on the team in points in her freshman season, but she transferred to North Carolina to be closer to home. Finally, starting libero Christina Martinez Mundo exhausted all her college eligibility after posting 3.54 digs per set.

There was no panic or change of strategy from Tamas, who has relied on the growth of young returners, seven new freshmen and only two transfers to push his program forward. Attacker Taylor de Boer is a prime example of program development, taking over as the team's leading scorer (300.5) after only seeing 16 sets last season. The same goes for Kayla Burbage, who did not play in 2024 but has come out of nowhere to be the Illini's leading blocker with 77 total and 1.00 per set. Plus, Averie Hernandez has become the team's super serving sub with a team-leading 24 aces off the bench.

Alyssa Aguayo has been the standout from the seven-player freshmen class for Illinois, emerging as the team's second option behind de Boer with 3.29 points per set on 218 kills, 29 blocks and 21 aces. After being part of a 6-2 at Florida State, Kenna Phelan transferred to Champaign in hopes of running her own offense and that has panned out with her averaging 9.70 assists per set while being second with 190 digs. Speaking of defense, you'll see another true freshman starter in libero Taryn Kirsch, who's made a team-high 239 digs this season for a 3.10.

Since being picked as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN's Bracketology on Oct. 16, Illinois has fallen off a cliff. They won their first two matches after that reveal — against last-place Ohio State and 12th-place Northwestern — but followed with four-straight defeats at the hands of No. 11 Purdue, Michigan, No. 20 Minnesota and Iowa. The Illini need to rack up a few more wins to clinch their spot in the postseason, but with five ranked opponents in their last eight matches, it's going to be a sweat until the bracket reveal.