CHAMPIONS — Raina Terry scored in quick succession in the second set of Illinois Volleyball’s Sunday afternoon home game against No. 7 Wisconsin.
Terry’s eight kills were certainly noteworthy inside Huff Hall.
So did veteran Illini outside hitter Anna Smrek’s 6-foot-9 Badger solo block.
It was a forced play that University of Illinois coach Chris Tamas has seen frequently over the past four-plus seasons.
That’s the level of play Terry has consistently provided for Illinois since taking the court as a true freshman in January 2021, when the season was delayed due to the coronavirus.
“Even if everyone stands up and tries to stop her, that’s all the good hitters are, and they’re good,” Tamas said. “They can score a lot of points for you in a hurry. Whenever a player like that comes on, you have to feed them, and we’ve seen them throughout her career. We’ve done it many times, and it helps set records.”
A record that Terry continued to accumulate during his final season in Champaign.
On September 14th, the program’s all-time ace record was set for the first time, with Terry scoring 208 points, far surpassing Mary Eggers’ previous record of 180 points. Terry also replaced Eggers as Illinois’ all-time scoring leader with 2,2981/2. To date, he has earned 2,351 points.
The latest record came during the Illini’s four-set victory this Friday night at Northwestern, where Terry’s 15 kills broke Joselyn Burks’ record of 1,972 kills. With Sunday’s three-set loss to Wisconsin, Terry’s career is now 1,988 with 15 games remaining, and he has at least eight more to play, with Illinois (15-7, 7-5) resuming Friday at 5 p.m. ) Big Ten hosts Southern California (16-16). -6, 8-4) at Huff Hall.
Terry, of course, is starting his fifth season and setting a number of new records after the 2020 season was postponed to early 2021 due to the pandemic and the number of regular season games in the Big Ten was limited to 20. Ta. Terry’s record-setting kill came in his 133rd career game and 498th career set. Berks’ record was set in 127 matches and 487 sets.
But it was the first of two seasons in 2021 that Terry took to the court for the first time and never left. She played in 18 of 20 games that season, filling an unexpected six-rotation outside hitter role and ultimately leading Illinois with 210 kills.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be a six-rotation player my freshman year, but injuries forced me to do that,” Terry said. Elie Holtzman suffered a season-ending injury in January of that year, and Bruna Vrankovic also struggled with injuries in Illinois’ first season post-Jacqueline Quaid.
“I had to grow a lot in a lot of ways,” Terry continued. “I had to grow first as a player and then as a leader and continue to strive to get the best out of everyone.”
Tamas called Terry’s freshman season a “trial by fire.” Her only option was to play, and play all six rotations.
“She was one of the only players who could finish the ball,” Tamas said. “I knew it would be a challenge and frustration for her to do something she hasn’t done at a very high level, but the best thing I can say about Raina is that she always, every day , we have accepted every challenge.”
“We knew she was going to be the future. I’ve watched her since early in her club career and she was a great competitor. If you’re a competitor, you’ll accept any challenge thrown your way.”
Terry played just like she did and that first season brought confidence. It ultimately laid the foundation for the rest of her career. She previously led Illinois in kills in the second season of 2021 that fall, and in 2022 and 2023. Her 149 kill differential this season likely means she’ll be successful at 5-on-5.
“She has been through a real challenge,” Tamas said. “Everyone’s going to try to stop her, and she’s still thinking of ways to get kills. … In the last few years, we’ve used her a lot to find ways to get points. She was our only consistent point scorer, so we had to move her around quite a bit. This year, she played a more traditional six-rotation role and passed. He plays defense, he does everything for us.”
Terry is always quick to credit her coaches and teammates for their contributions to her success. Former Illinois assistant and current Alabama coach Lacinda Reed was in the early stages of her growth and development. Krista Hendrickson has held that role since joining the staff in 2022.
“My coaches have really invested in my development on and off the court. I owe all of my success to them,” Terry said. “I just rely on my coaches and teammates. I always say I’m the last one to touch the ball, so all of my success is due to my teammates.”
Teammates keep feeding Terry the ball, like Brooke Mosher and Ragen Riley showed against Wisconsin on Sunday.
Just as Mosher will take over as primary setter at the University of Illinois from Diana Brown in 2023.
“Reyna shows up every day and gives her all every day,” Mosher said. “She doesn’t take a day off. With that, I can rely on her for everything. It really gives us confidence. … When she’s on board, everyone It helps us get on the same train.”
