For the third straight year, Illinois head coach Chris Tamas made the trip to Chicago for Big Ten Volleyball Media Days, taking part in the third annual event on Monday.
Tamas, who returned to the U.S. on Sunday following a visit to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, was joined by student-athletes Caroline Barnes and Raina Terry, the latter of whom was making her second appearance at Big Ten Media Days. Illinois was one of nine schools to attend Media Days on Monday, while the other half of the league is slated to participate on Tuesday.
Addressing topics that included the conference's recent expansion, the plethora of new faces on this year's roster, and Tamas' trip to Paris, the Illini made the most of their visit to the Windy City ahead of the start of their 2024 campaign later this month.
Here are a few takeaways from Illinois' appearance at 2024 Big Ten Volleyball Media Days.
Tamas wants to handle the expanded Big Ten Conference like business as usual
The Big Ten grew from 14 to 18 member institutions on Friday with the official additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington, but Tamas does not expect things to change too much with the welcoming of four new programs.
"We'll handle it the same," Tamas said. "The big difference is you don't get a return shot on a lot of them. I think that's going to be an interesting thing moving forward because you could catch someone at the beginning of the season when you're on a roll and maybe there's an injury somewhere and all of a sudden someone is out and that could kind of change how that rolls.
"A couple of trips might be a little bit tougher than the other ones, but it's going to be relatively the same."
Illinois will make its lone trip to the West Coast early in the season, traveling to take on newcomers Oregon and Washington during the opening week of conference play, Sept. 27-28. The Illini will be playing their first road match against the Ducks since 2016, while the Orange and Blue will return to Seattle to take on the Huskies for the first time since 2019.
Washington is somewhat of a familiar face for the Illini in recent years, as the two programs have met on the courtin two of the last three seasons.
UCLA and USC will each pay a visit to Champaign in November. USC is slated to take on the Illini at Huff Hall on Nov. 8, when Illinois looks to avenge a five-set loss it suffered at the hands of the Trojans last season. The Bruins come to town two weeks later, on Nov. 23, in their first-ever road match against the Illini. Illinois aims to pick up its first win against UCLA in program history in the first meeting between the sides since 2014.
Given the strength of the conference from top to bottom, Tamas expects every night to be a challenge, especially with the additions of four more talented teams to the already tremendous Big Ten lineup.
"There is no match that you can just show up and waltz into," Tamas said. "You have to show up for every match, and it's been that way ever since I've been in the Big Ten. Every year, the conference has gotten better. I think you're seeing some great volleyball, night in and night out."
The new-look Illini feature a mix of Division-I experience and intriguing freshman talent
After the Illini recorded a seventh-place finish in conference play in 2023, Tamas went into the offseason looking to add depth and talent. And, that's exactly what he did.
Tamas added four transfers: sophom*ore setter Vivian Campbell (Cincinnati), junior outside hitter/opposite Averie Hernandez (Northwestern), graduate student libero/defensive specialist Christina Martinez Mundo (Eastern Illinois), and senior setter Raegen Reilly (South Dakota State). Four freshmen round out the eight new faces on the 2024 roster: defensive specialist/libero Kenzie Cogan, middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot, defensive specialist/libero Christine Pullen, and outside hitter/opposite Laynie Smith.
The Illini also return a lot of their production from one season ago. Terry, the team's leader in kills in 2023, is coming back to the Orange and Blue in her fifth and final year of eligibility. Brooke Mosher, the Illini's starting setter in 2023 who led the team in aces and assists, will compete for Illinois in 2024. Caroline Barnes donned the libero jersey for the majority of the year, led the team in digs, and is now in her senior season. Cari Bohm posted the team's most blocks and is set to dominate at the nets again.
Given the large number of newcomers in addition to the amount of returning production, Tamas knows the next few weeks will be all about figuring out lineups and rotations, but he is excited about the amount of talent and experience on this season's team. Barnes described the group as gritty and competitive, two traits that will make the Illini a team to watch in 2024.
"We have made several tournament runs. We have been in the top half of the Big Ten, but that is not good enough for us. We want to get back to the top," Tamas said. "The conference is going to be as good as ever, and we welcome that challenge. We have a great opportunity this year to do some really great things on the court."
Terry's return brings excitement and history to Illinois in 2024
After putting together the best season of her collegiate career as a senior in 2023, Terry could have decided to leave Illinois and move on to the next stage of her life. Having finished in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories, including total attacks and total kills, Terry could have pursued other opportunities.
Instead, she opted to return to Champaign for a fifth season while pursuing a master's degree. The decision turned out to be a no-brainer.
In 2023, Terry recorded a career-high 539 kills, almost 100 more than her previous career-best tally, while also amassing more total attacks, assists, blocks, and points than in any other campaign. A First Team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Region honoree in both 2022 and 2023, Terry has already etched her name throughout the program's record book.
But, she is not done yet. Terry has an opportunity to shatter the program's record for career kills, and she is on pace to break the all-time mark for career aces, too.
The Illini's season opener against Cincinnati on Aug. 30 will begin the final year of Terry's "reign of terror" in Champaign, and she aims to go out on a good note.
"It was probably the easiest decision I've ever made in my life," Terry said. "I'm very fortunate to have such a great coaching staff and such great teammates who made that decision so easy for me."
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