Illinois Volleyball loses to Utah in NCAA Tournament Round of 64

It took five sets, and now Illinois’ season is over

After sneaking into the NCAA Tournament with a 16-13 regular season record, the Illini battled the Utes (23-9) at BYU, but the valiant effort wasn’t enough (23-25, 26-24, 27-25, 23-25, 15-10).

A year after making the Final Four, the Illini’s season will come to an abrupt end with a a 16-14 mark.

In the second and third sets, the Illini tallied 32 total kills, but struggled mightily with a .091 hitting percentage in the fourth set. Down in the fifth set 9-8, the Utes finished a nice run to cap off the win.

Chris Tamas, in his third year at the helm for the Illini, has led the club to the NCAA Tournament each year. Last year Illinois made it to the Final Four in Minneapolis before falling to Nebraska.