# Illinois Fighting Illini women's volleyball

The Illinois Fighting Illini women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, often referred to as "Illinois", located in Champaign, Illinois. The Illinois volleyball team competes in the Big Ten Conference and has played their home games in Huff Hall since 1990. Since moving into Huff Hall from the Kenney Gym, Illinois Volleyball has remained in the top 10 in the nation for average home attendance. In 2013, the program broke its previous home attendance record, averaging 3,117 per match.

## History

Since the founding of the volleyball program in 1974, the Fighting Illini have had 39 winning seasons.

### Head coaching history

Illinois head coaches :
| Coach | Years | Record | Conference Record | Conference Titles | AIAW/NCAA Appearances |
| Kathleen Haywood | 1974 | 19–9 | * | | |
| Terry Hite | 1975–1976 | 40–28 | * | | |
| Chris Accornero | 1977–1979 | 84–51–7 | * | | 1 |
| John Blair | 1980–1983 | 56–79 | 8–5* | | 1 |
| Mike Hebert | 1984–1995 | 323–127 | 173–62 | 4 | 11 |
| Don Hardin | 1996–2008 | 234–163 | 127–133 | | 6 |
| Kevin Hambly | 2009–2016 | 140–59 | 82–38 | | 6 |
| Chris Tamas | 2017– | 149–94 | 90–68 | | 5 |
| Totals | Totals | 1083–637–7 | 491–321 | 4 | 30 |
* Big Ten Conference volleyball did not begin play until 1982.

### Attendance records

Top attendance figures. :
| Rank | Attendance | Opponent | Home venue | Date |
| 1 | 7,632 | Minnesota | State Farm Center | October 16, 2009 |
| 2 | 7,061 | Iowa | State Farm Center | September 27, 2013 |
| 3 | 4,631 | Purdue | State Farm Center | December 13, 2013 |
| 4 | 4,536 | Wisconsin | Huff Hall | October 4, 2014 |
| 5 | 4,316 | Stanford | Huff Hall | December 11, 1992 |
| 6 | 4,261 | Purdue | Huff Hall | October 1, 2011 |
| 7 | 4,211 | Ohio State | Huff Hall | December 3, 1992 |
| T-8 | 4,152 | Purdue | Huff Hall | November 24, 2018 |
| T-8 | 4,152 | Penn State | Huff Hall | November 10, 2018 |
| T-8 | 4,152 | Wisconsin | Huff Hall | December 8, 2018 |

## Season results

| Year | Head coach | Overall record | Conference record | Conference standing | Postseason |
| 1974 | Kathleen Haywood | 19–9 | | | – |
| 1975 | Terri Hite | 15–14 | | | – |
| 1976 | Terri Hite | 25–14 | | | – |
| 1977 | Chris Accornero | 38–17–6 | | | AIAW National Tournament Appearance |
| 1978 | Chris Accornero | 28–14–1 | | | – |
| 1979 | Chris Accornero | 18–20 | | | – |
| 1980 | John Blair | 22–32 | | | AIAW National Tournament Appearance |
| 1981 | John Blair | 17–27 | | | – |
| 1982 | John Blair | 17–20 | | | – |
| (Big Ten) (1983–present) ||||||
| 1983 | Mike Hebert | 5–25 | 2–11 | 5th (west) | – |
| 1984 | Mike Hebert | 18–15 | 6–7 | 3rd (west) | – |
| 1985 | Mike Hebert | 39–3 | 16–2 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 1986 | Mike Hebert | 36–3 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1987 | Mike Hebert | 31–7 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1988 | Mike Hebert | 30–4 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Final Four |
| 1989 | Mike Hebert | 27–8 | 13–5 | 2nd | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1990 | Mike Hebert | 21–12 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA First Round |
| 1991 | Mike Hebert | 19–10 | 14–6 | 4th | NCAA First Round |
| 1992 | Mike Hebert | 32–4 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1993 | Mike Hebert | 18–13 | 14–6 | 3rd | NCAA Second Round |
| 1994 | Mike Hebert | 23–14 | 12–8 | 4th | NCAA First Round |
| 1995 | Mike Hebert | 24–9 | 12–8 | 4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 1996 | Don Hardin | 13–15 | 8–12 | 7th | – |
| 1997 | Don Hardin | 17–13 | 8–12 | 7th | – |
| 1998 | Don Hardin | 22–11 | 13–7 | 4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 1999 | Don Hardin | 17–11 | 12–8 | 4th | NCAA Second Round |
| 2000 | Don Hardin | 13–18 (15–16) | 4–16 (6–14) | 10th | – |
| 2001 | Don Hardin | 21–9 | 13–7 | 4th | NCAA Second Round |
| 2002 | Don Hardin | 13–16 | 7–13 | 9th | – |
| 2003 | Don Hardin | 26–7 | 15–5 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2004 | Don Hardin | 19–11 | 11–9 | 5th | NCAA First Round |
| 2005 | Don Hardin | 16–15 | 7–13 | 7th | – |
| 2006 | Don Hardin | 15–15 | 6–14 | 9th | – |
| 2007 | Don Hardin | 16–14 | 8–12 | 8th | – |
| 2008 | Don Hardin | 26–8 | 15–5 | 3rd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2009 | Kevin Hambly | 26–6 | 16–4 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2010 | Kevin Hambly | 24–9 | 14–6 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2011 | Kevin Hambly | 32–5 | 16–4 | 2nd | NCAA Runner-up |
| 2012 | Kevin Hambly | 14–16 | 8–12 | 8th | – |
| 2013 | Kevin Hambly | 18–15 | 12–8 | 4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2014 | Kevin Hambly | 26–8 | 16–4 | 3rd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2015 | Kevin Hambly | 21–13 | 10–10 | 7th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2016 | Kevin Hambly | 17–14 | 10–10 | 8th | – |
| 2017 | Chris Tamas | 23–11 | 12–8 | 6th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2018 | Chris Tamas | 32–4 | 17–3 | 2nd | NCAA Final Four |
| 2019 | Chris Tamas | 16-14 | 11-9 | 7th | NCAA First Round |
| 2020-21 | Chris Tamas | 7-11 | 7-11 | 7th | - |
| 2021 | Chris Tamas | 22-12 | 12-8 | 7th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2022 | Chris Tamas | 15-15 | 10-10 | 7th | - |
| 2023 | Chris Tamas | 16-14 | 11-9 | T6th | - |
| 2024 | Chris Tamas | 18-13 | 10-10 | 8th | NCAA First Round |
| Totals | Totals | 1083–637–7 | 491–321 | | 30 postseason appearances |