Illini Open 2026 Regular Season With Home Matches Vs. Cincinnati, Syracuse
August 27, 2026 | Volleyball
PREVIEW
| Matches 1+2 // [RV] Illinois Opens Regular Season at Huff Hall | |
|---|---|
| Match 1: Cincinnati | Friday, Aug. 28 | 7 p.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | B1G+ | Radio | Live Stats |
| Match 2: Syracuse | Sunday, Aug. 30 | 12 p.m. CT | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | B1G+ | Radio | Live Stats |
| Buy Tickets | Cincinnati | Syracuse |
| Rosters | Illinois | Cincinnati | Syracuse |
| Printable Notes | Illinois |
| Series History |
Cincinnati: ILL leads, 11-3; Last Match: ILL won, 3-0, on 9/12/2025; Streak: W6 |
| Fan Guide | Fan Guide for Attending Home Volleyball Matches |
| Parking | Map |
| New in 2026 |
Team Runout: The team will now run out of the northeast doors of Huff Hall, running in front of the north bleachers before turning left and running along the length of the west bleachers. Post-Match Autographs/Photos: Following all Illinois home wins, Fighting Illini student-athletes will sign autographs and take photos with fans in front of the west bleachers. |
| Promotions |
Cincinnati Syracuse |
| Shop Illini Gear | Online Store |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois opens its 2026 regular season with home matches against Cincinnati and Syracuse during the final weekend of August. The Fighting Illini will face the Bearcats on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on the Orange on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. Cincinnati and Syracuse will square off in a neutral-site match on Saturday afternoon.
The Orange and Blue open the season at home for the first time under head coach Chris Tamas, who begins his 10th season at the helm of the program. The Illini host their season opener for the first time since the 2016 campaign.
All three matches will stream on B1G+, while tickets are available at FightingIllini.com.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Cincinnati finished the 2025 season with a 15-13 record, including a 7-11 mark in Big 12 play. Outside hitter Sydney Nolan garnered All-Big 12 First Team status following the season, ranking among the top 25 nationally in kills per set, attacks per set, points per set, and total kills.
Nolan was tabbed with Preseason All-Big 12 honors, while the Bearcats brought in nine newcomers for the 2026 campaign. Three transfers – Kate Lijic (Utah State/Miami), Audrey Rome (UConn), and Andrea Simovski (Utah State) – and six freshmen are set to feature for Cincinnati in 2026.
The Bearcats are led by head coach Danijela Tomic, who enters her second season at Cincinnati and her 22nd year overall as a Division I head coach.
Syracuse opens the season with a trip to Champaign after going 13-17 (5-15 ACC) in 2025. The Orange were picked to finish 17th in the Preseason ACC Volleyball Coaches Poll, while the squad's top six point-scorers from a season ago have departed from the program.
The new-look Orange feature 15 new faces for the 2026 season, including nine transfers.
Syracuse is led by head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam, who is now in his fifth season at the helm of the Syracuse program.
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois holds an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1970s. The Illini and the Bearcats have squared off in each of the last two seasons, with the Orange and Blue winning both contests in three sets. In 2025, the sides met at the Linda Herman Classic in Normal, Ill., with the Illini securing the sweep on Sept. 12.
The Illini are 4-0 when playing the Bearcats in Champaign, while Cincinnati makes its first trip to Huff Hall since Sept. 16, 2011.
Sunday's contest against Syracuse marks the first-ever meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Orange.
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
Illinois volleyball head coach Chris Tamas has signed a contract extension that will run through the 2028-29 academic year, which was announced on Aug. 1.
Tamas enters his 10th campaign as head coach of the Fighting Illini volleyball program in 2026 after being named to the position in February 2017. Across his first nine seasons at the helm of the program, Tamas owns an overall record of 162-110 (.596), including a 98-80 (.551) 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 AllAmerica 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.
2025 IN REVIEW
The 2025 season saw the Fighting Illini compete in their ninth campaign under the direction of head coach Chris Tamas. Illinois finished the year with a 13-16 record, including an 8-12 mark in Big Ten play.
Following the regular season, Taylor de Boer and Kenna Phelan were selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team, and Alyssa Aguayo was named to the All-Freshman Team. De Boer and Ashlyn Philpot earned spots on the AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team, while Phelan claimed Honorable Mention status.
Illinois picked up its first win of the season at the inaugural Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party, with the Illini's 3-1 victory over Vanderbilt helping Tamas secure his 150th triumph at the helm of the program. The Orange and Blue ultimately went 5-4 during nonconference play, which included true road wins over Notre Dame and Illinois State.
The Illini began Big Ten play on a positive note, going 7-1 across their first eight contests. Illinois started conference competition with a sweep over Oregon before tallying its best win over the season in a 3-1 road win at #10 Purdue. The match, played at Mackey Arena, marked the program's first victory over a top-10 opponent since 2021, while the Illini started 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2022.
After dropping a hard-fought road loss to #7 Wisconsin, Illinois rattled off five consecutive wins to move to 7-1 in Big Ten play. Four of those victories came on the road (Maryland, Rutgers, Ohio State, and Northwestern) along with a five-set home victory over Michigan State.
The Illini played in front of a sellout crowd on Nov. 2 against Iowa before hosting the Huff Hall Centennial Celebration vs. #25 Penn State on Nov. 9.
ILLINI SET ATTENDANCE RECORD IN 2025
The Illini recorded the highest average home attendance in program history in 2025, averaging a program-best 3,238 fans at Huff Hall across 12 home contests.
Illinois hosted a sellout against Iowa on Nov. 2, 2025, while seven matches featured an attendance of over 3,000.
LAND OF LINCOLN
The Illini squad features three players from the state of Illinois. Vivian Campbell, Lindsay Oldendorf, and Ava Wysocki all hail from the Land of Lincoln.
ORANGE AND BLUE ON NATIONAL TV
Illinois is slated for seven nationally televised regular-season matches, including six on Big Ten Network and one on FS1.
The Fighting Illini's nonconference match at Marquette on Sept. 11 is scheduled as the team's first televised contest of the season and will air nationally at 5 p.m. CT on FS1.
The Orange and Blue will battle Oregon (Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. CT) and Purdue (Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. CT) on the road on Big Ten Network. Four home matches at Huff Hall will also feature on BTN: Wisconsin (Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. CT), Michigan State (Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. CT), Northwestern (Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. CT), and Ohio State (Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. CT).
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.
Three matches will be played in the opening round of the tournament, followed by four second-round matches. The competition will then progress through the quarterfinals and semifinals, culminating with the championship match slated for November 25. One off day will be built into the tournament schedule.
The Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format to account for the tournament. Television designations and ticket information will be distributed at a later date.
