Cornhuskers cruise past Illini at Huff Hall

CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois volleyball team entered Thursday night’s match against No. 2 Nebraska with myriad opportunities.

But the Illini couldn’t capitalize on a sold-out Huff Hall as a 25-18, 25-22, 25-17 Big Ten loss represented their 10th straight setback against the Cornhuskers.

“We know they’re a good team and they’ve been a good team for a while,” Illinois coach Chris Tamas said. “I thought we came out of the gates pretty good, obviously, and through that second set I thought we had a pretty good bead on them.”

An Illini (8-5, 0-3 Big Ten) bid for their first conference win of the season started well enough before a crowd of 4,352, including some 200 students in a new section of seating behind the north end zone. It was the largest Illini crowd at the venue since a 3-1 loss by Illinois to Wisconsin on Oct. 4, 2014.

They were plenty engaged as Illinois scored the first four points of the match courtesy an ace from Averie Hernandez, a kill from Raina Terry and a pair of Cornhuskers errors.

But Nebraska (13-1, 3-0) — which traveled a hearty contingent of its own in its fourth time as a “Stuff Huff” participant in the last six promotions — clicked off three runs of at least three consecutive points as it claimed a seven-point victory in the opening set.

“We just couldn’t convert a few plays and they converted a few of the longer rallies, which can kind of crush you a little bit,” Tamas said. “I like how we played overall ... not happy with the loss, but you’ve got to take a look at what’s good when you can and try to improve what you can after that.”

Illinois fared better in the second set, with Terry and Hernandez emerging to carry the Illini offense. Terry paced Illinois’ offense with 13 kills while Hernandez chipped in 11 kills, including seven during the second set.

“I think my teammates trusted me and put me in good situations,” Hernandez said. “I give them full credit for playing with the confidence they played with. I think that rubbed off on me and I was able to go out there and take confident swings.”

Hernandez, a Normal West product in her first season with the Illini, had plenty of familiar faces in the stands during Illinois’ second home match of the season.

So did Raegen Reilly, who competed against her sister, Bergen, on the opposite side of the net.

A group of about 15 fans wearing shirts split the team’s logos — complete with “Reilly: on the back — watched the match atop section 106 behind Illinois’ bench.

“It’s bittersweet,” Reilly said. “It’s a lot of fun but obviously I always want to cheer for her too ... a lot of family flew in, so I’m very grateful for that.”

It was Bergen Reilly — who led the Cornhuskers with 30 aces — that earned the upper hand in the sisters’ second-ever match against each other.

Twelve of those came in the match’s final stanza, which Nebraska won 25-17 to clinch their ninth sweep of the season.

“It’s all love,” Reilly said. “We’re very supportive of each other, I told her good job, she told me good job. It’s all love.”

Christina Martinez Mundo paced Illinois’ defensive effort with 12 digs, with Terry chipping in 10 digs of her own.

Illinois outpaced Nebraska in kills (43-41), digs (45-44) and assists (40-33) throughout Thursday’s match.

“You’re playing against a team that also has a good defense and there’s other stats to the game that account for points,” Tamas said. “The serve-pass game becomes a pretty big deal. I thought we passed pretty well last week, tonight we were just okay.”

The Illini are still seeking their first set victory in Big Ten play after dropping 3-0 decisions at Oregon and Washington last weekend.

“I think we put together some really good sets, and unfortunately, they haven’t translated into winning sets,” Tamas said.

Thursday’s match was the first time Illinois had played at home since Sept. 3, when it defeated Illinois State 3-1.

A two-match home stand will conclude when the Illini face Northwestern — Hernandez’s former team — on Sunday.

“To not play in a home match for weeks, it’s been rough,” Hernandez said. “It was really, really good to see the show out. I feel like we could have something great with the support that they’ve shown us.”

First serve between the Illini and Wildcats is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday as Illinois looks to halt its early Big Ten skid.

“The style in how you play and how you attack is a big deal to me,” Tamas said.” You’re not always going to make the play 100 percent of the time, but you’ve got to have the effort to do so.”