University of Illinois
Maryland
October 21, 2026 | Volleyball
PREVIEW
| Matches 20+21 // Illinois to Face Maryland, Rutgers Away from Home | |
|---|---|
| Match 20: Maryland | Friday, Oct. 23 | 6 p.m. CT | College Park, Md. | Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion at XFINITY Center | B1G+ | Radio | Live Stats |
| Match 21: Rutgers | Saturday, Oct. 24 | 6 p.m. CT | Piscataway, N.J. | Jersey Mike's Arena | B1G+ | Radio | Live Stats |
| Rosters | Illinois | Maryland | Rutgers |
| Printable Notes | Illinois |
| Series History |
Maryland: ILL leads, 17-0; Last Match: ILL won, 3-1, on 10/10/2025; Streak: W17 |
| Shop Illini Gear | Online Store |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Now at the midway point in its conference schedule, Illinois heads to the East Coast for road matches at Maryland and Rutgers this week. The Fighting Illini will take on the Terrapins on Friday at 6 p.m. CT before squaring off with the Scarlet Knights on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.
Both matches will stream on B1G+.
LAST TIME OUT
The Fighting Illini fell to Michigan in a five-set thriller at Huff Hall on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 18).
The Orange and Blue registered a season-best 11 aces in the contest as they moved to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play.
Paityn Chapman recorded a career-high 23 kills, hitting .378 while also posting five digs, three aces, and two blocks.
Madi Miles logged her third consecutive outing with 15 kills. Kristina Starostenko collected 11 kills and six blocks, while Alyssa Aguayo amassed 11 kills, eight digs, two aces, and a block.
Ashlyn Philpot finished with nine kills, while Kenna Phelan filled the stat sheet with 55 assists and eight digs. Maya Harris equaled her career-high with four aces.
OPPONENT SCOUT
The Illini start their East Coast trip against the 12-7 Maryland Terrapins on Friday. Maryland started the year with a 10-1 nonconference slate, which included sweeps in eight of those wins. With Big Ten play underway, the Terps are 2-6 against conference opponents, with their wins coming in five sets against both Iowa and Northwestern. Maryland enters the week on a two-match skid after being swept by #6 Wisconsin and then #21 Minnesota away from home.
Coming off of an 8-22 season a year ago, Maryland brought back familiar veteran voices while adding one transfer and bringing in six freshmen who made up the second-highest-rated prep class in program history. Senior Sydney Bryant has been a key returner and leads the team with 3.02 kills/set and has added 13 blocks as well. Sara Toth was the transfer addition for the Terps, with the sophomore setter amassing 683 assists and 119 digs thus far on the year. She also posted a double-double with 55 assists and 13 digs vs Arkansas and ranks third in the conference with 10.67 assists/set. Freshman outside hitter Ava Brown has made an immediate impact, leading her squad with 209 points this year and is second in both kills/set (2.69) and blocks/set (0.91).
Adam Hughes is in the midst of his ninth season as head coach at Maryland. During his tenure, the Terps are 122-138 and have finished .500 or better in four of the eight completed seasons. Prior to becoming Maryland's head coach, Hughes made stops at Penn State, UC Irvine, and Maryland in assistant roles.
Rutgers currently holds a 10-10 record on the year. The Scarlet Knights posted a 9-3 record in nonconference play, picking up wins over Arkansas in three and St. John's in five. Against Big Ten opponents, they are 1-7, with the lone win coming via a sweep of Ohio State. Rutgers is currently on a five-game skid, losing each in four sets. They will face Michigan State Friday before the Illini go to Piscataway on Saturday.
After a 12-20 season in 2025, Rutgers returned 11 players from that squad, and they filled out the rest of their roster with four freshmen and three transfers. After starting the final seven matches of last year, middle blocker Imani Howell has stepped into a bigger role. Howell is second in points with 221.5 and is averaging 2.26 kills/set and 1.13 blocks/set this year. Freshman right side Malia Romes has made a big impact as she has tallied a team-high 2.77 kills/set this year while also adding 43 blocks, which is good for third on the team.
Rutgers is in its seventh season with Caitlin Schweihofer at the helm. In her time at Rutgers, she has coached the program's only two All-Big Ten honorees. Prior to Rutgers, Schweihofer spent five seasons at La Salle where she was A-10 Coach of the Year in 2018 and then she spent one season at Northeastern.
SERIES HISTORY
The Fighting Illini come in at a perfect 17-0 all-time record vs Maryland. They are 7-0 in matches played at College Park, including a four-set victory last year. The Orange and Blue have an all-time record of 18-1 against Rutgers and have won the last 18 matchups in the series. Illinois is 9-0 when facing Rutgers in true road matches, including a sweep last season.
ILLINI SECURE RANKED WIN VS. #22 SPARTANS
Illinois returned to winning ways with another ranked victory, defeating #22 Michigan State in four sets at Huff Hall on Oct. 15.
Through the first seven matches of conference play, all four of the Fighting Illini's Big Ten wins came against ranked opponents.
Madi Miles led the way once again offensively, tying her career-high with 15 kills while swinging at a .303 clip. Paityn Chapman collected 13 kills, six digs, and five blocks, while Ashlyn Philpot finished with 11 kills and four stuffs.
Kenna Phelan ended the night with 49 assists and nine digs, while Talita Goncalves tallied 20 digs and four assists. Alyssa Aguayo filled the stat sheet with eight kills, 11 digs, and an ace.
ILLINOIS RETURNS TO THE AVCA RANKINGS
The Fighting Illini checked in at #24 in the Oct. 5 AVCA Coaches Poll, the program's first appearance in the rankings since 2022.
One of a conference-record 10 Big Ten teams represented in last week's AVCA poll, the Orange and Blue started Big Ten play with three consecutive ranked victories. Illinois first defeated #15 Minnesota at Huff Hall on Sept. 24 before sweeping #23 USC two days later on Sept. 26. The Illini's road win over the Huskies marked the team's third ranked victory in eight days.
ILLINI EARN RANKED ROAD W AT #22 WASHINGTON
Illinois continued its winning ways with its third straight ranked victory, sweeping #22 Washington on the road in Seattle on Oct. 2.
Four Fighting Illini finished with double-digit digs, while three players posted 10 kills as the Orange and Blue extended their winning streak to seven and secured their third ranked win in the span of eight days.
Three Illini recorded double-doubles, including a 10-kill, 17-dig outing for Paityn Chapman. She also added two aces and two blocks.
Kenna Phelan finished with 36 assists and 16 digs, while Alyssa Aguayo amassed 10 kills and 11 digs.
Kristina Starostenko collected 10 kills and six blocks while swinging at a .643 clip, while Taylor de Boer tallied eight kills and a career-high six blocks.
Talita Goncalves totaled 13 digs and three assists, and Maya Harris added nine digs and three aces.
ILLINI OPEN B1G PLAY WITH TWO RANKED WINS
Illinois started conference play with a statement, defeating #15 Minnesota on Sept. 24 and #23 USC on Sept. 26 during the opening weekend of Big Ten action.
Against the Golden Gophers, Paityn Chapman led the Illini offense with a team-most 15 kills to go alongside nine digs, three blocks, and an ace. Taylor de Boer totaled 11 kills and a block, while Kristina Starostenko collected eight kills and four blocks.
Kenna Phelan secured her fourth double-double of the season with 37 assists, 10 digs, and two kills. Talita Goncalves finished with a team-best 19 digs, while Alyssa Aguayo amassed 11 digs, three kills, and a block.
Ashlyn Philpot logged seven kills and three total blocks, including a solo stuff. Maya Harris added four digs, two kills, and two aces.
Illinois' win against #23 USC saw the Illini secure ranked victories in consecutive matches for the first time since 2019.
Aguayo led the Illini with 18 kills, tying her career-best mark while hitting at a whopping .500 clip and adding eight digs, two blocks, and an ace. She posted just one error on 34 swings.
Starostenko collected seven kills and two blocks, while Philpot finished with six kills and four total stuffs.
Chapman posted five kills, four blocks, and a team-high 15 digs, while Goncalves tallied 13 digs of her own. Phelan ended the night with 36 assists, nine digs, two kills, and an ace.
De Boer recorded the 500th kill of her collegiate career during the contest, while Harris had seven digs and a kill.
GONÇALVES, PHELAN WIN B1G WEEKLY AWARDS
Fighting Illini senior setter Kenna Phelan and sophomore libero/defensive specialist Talita Goncalves were both honored with Big Ten weekly awards following the opening week of conference play, the conference office announced on Sept. 28.
Phelan was named Big Ten Setter of the Week for the first time this season and for the second time in her career, while Goncalves was tabbed with Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time. The Illini duo received the recognition following Illinois' ranked wins over #15 Minnesota on Sept. 24 and #23 USC on Sept. 26.
Across the two matches, Phelan averaged 10.43 assists/set, 2.71 digs/set, and 0.57 kills/set while leading the Orange and Blue offense to a .266 hitting percentage, which ranked fifth in the conference last week.
Phelan started the week with a double-double against the Golden Gophers, recording 37 assists, 10 digs, two kills, and a block in the four-set win while playing all six rotations. Against the Women of Troy, Phelan guided Illinois to a .301 hitting percentage while collecting 36 assists, nine digs, two kills, and an ace.
Goncalves served as the Illini's lone libero during the two matches and helped limit Illinois' two opponents to a .219 hitting percentage. She averaged 4.57 digs/set and 0.86 assists/set in seven sets of action.
She started the week with a team-high 19 digs against Minnesota while adding three assists and an ace. Two days later against the Trojans, Goncalves tallied 13 digs, three assists, and an ace to go alongside a perfect 1.000 reception percentage on 13 total attempts.
Phelan last captured Big Ten Setter of the Week honors on Sept. 29, 2025, while Goncalves is the Illini's first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honoree since 2021.
This marked the first time two Fighting Illini players have been recognized with Big Ten weekly awards in the same week since Oct. 7, 2019, when Diana Brown (Freshman of the Week) and Ashlyn Fleming (Defensive Player of the Week) were both honored.
2026 NONCONFERENCE IN REVIEW
The Fighting Illini went 8-3 during nonconference play in 2026, which included a 3-1 mark at home and a 3-2 record in true road matches.
Illinois secured its first win of the season on Aug. 30 with a sweep over Syracuse and went 2-0 at the Rice Invitational with straight-set victories over McNeese State and [RV] Rice.
Defeating Lindenwood in straight sets on Sept. 9, Illinois then split its home-and-home series with Marquette. The Illini posted three wins in the final week of nonconference action with a road victory over Eastern Illinois and back-to-back sweeps against Arkansas and Arkansas State (Sept. 19-20) at the Arkansas State Invitational.
ILLINOIS EARNS FIVE-SET WIN OVER MARQUETTE
Illinois secured a hard-fought five-set win over Marquette on Sept. 13 at Huff Hall.
The Fighting Illini used a 7-0 run late in the fifth set to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point lead.
Illinois recorded 73 kills, its most in a match since 2019, and 86 digs, its most since 2021. Five players finished with double-digit kills, while Talita Goncalves accounted for 26 digs, the most by an Illini since 2024.
ILLINI RECORD RESOUNDING ROAD WIN AT RICE
Illinois closed its weekend in Houston with a resounding road sweep over Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse on Sept. 6.
The Fighting Illini hit .494 as a team, their most efficient percentage since 2018, while securing their second sweep in as many days.
NEW TO THE ORANGE AND BLUE
The Fighting Illini squad brought in six new student-athletes to the squad ahead of the 2026 season, including three from the transfer portal.
Junior opposite Paityn Chapman joined the team from Tennessee in January, while fifth-year middle blocker Lindsay Oldendorf returned to her home state after spending her first four seasons at San Francisco and Northern Iowa. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Talita Goncalves signed with the Illini in May after playing at San José State as a freshman.
Kristina Starostenko, a junior middle blocker from Ukraine, enters her first year at Illinois, while a pair of freshmen outside hitters from Indiana – Maya Harris and Madi Miles – are set for their first collegiate campaigns in Champaign.
TAMAS EXTENDS CONTRACT THROUGH 2028 SEASON
Head coach Chris Tamas signed a contract extension that will run through the 2028-29 academic year, which was announced on Aug. 1.
Tamas is in his 10th campaign as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2026 after being named to the position in February 2017. During his time at the helm of the program, Tamas owns an overall record of 174-117 (.598), including a 102-84 (.548) mark in the nation's toughest volleyball league, the Big Ten Conference. He also has guided the Fighting Illini to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including three NCAA Regional appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2018, while he has led the Orange and Blue to 10+ conference wins in seven of his nine seasons thus far.
Tamas earned his 150th career head coaching win when the Illini defeated Vanderbilt at the Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party on Aug. 31, 2025. Illinois' ranked road win on Sept. 28, 2025, at No. 10 Purdue marked the program's highest-ranked road victory since 2021.
Illinois experienced one of its most successful seasons ever in 2018 under Tamas, who was subsequently named AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. The Illini made the program's fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament, riding a 17-match win streak into the Final Four and ending the season ranked No. 3 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
The team registered a 32-4 overall record and finished in second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark, with the 32 victories ranking tied for fourth-most in school history. Under Tamas' leadership, the Illini collected a number of individual honors, highlighted by AVCA All America First Team selections in Jordyn Poulter and Jacqueline Quade – the first time in program history Illinois had multiple first-team honorees in a season – as well as a Third Team selection in Ali Bastianelli.
Poulter and Bastianelli, who also garnered All-America Third Team honors in 2017, were also named Senior CLASS Award finalists and CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees. The trio also collected unanimous All-Big Ten First Team accolades, with junior Ashlyn Fleming named to the second team and Poulter garnering the Illini's first-ever Big Ten Conference Co-Setter of the Year honor.
LAND OF LINCOLN
The Illini squad features three players from the state of Illinois. Vivian Campbell (Oswego), Lindsay Oldendorf (Homer Glen), and Ava Wysocki (Kildeer) all hail from the Land of Lincoln.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SET TO DEBUT IN 2026
The Big Ten Conference will usher in a new era of collegiate volleyball this fall with the launch of its inaugural tournament Nov. 20-25, 2026, at Fishers Event Center, home of Major League Volleyball's Indy Ignite.
The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament, bringing the nation's premier volleyball programs together in one venue for the first time.
The Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format to account for the tournament.
