Senior night, usually held during the last home match, honors all that a senior has done for their team.

The problem with the volleyball team's senior night last Saturday was that it wasn't their last home game.

The Illinois seniors get one more weekend of volleyball at Huff Hall as a reward for the team's return to dominance and the NCAA Tournament. Friday, No. 18 Illinois (24-6) hosts Murray State (18-11) at 7 p.m. No. 21 Notre Dame (23-6) will face No. 19 Louisville (24-5) at 5 p.m. The winners from both games will meet in the second round Saturday at 7 p.m.

"We had senior night last weekend and there was still the hope that we might be playing here again so it kind of didn't feel like it," Illinois senior outside hitter Melissa Vandrey said. "This weekend while we aren't honoring it, this definitely will be like a senior night because it is our last weekend."

"We were hoping and expecting to extend our season so senior night was kind of a night to reflect on our whole career we've had here," Illinois senior middle blocker Shelly O'Bryan said.

The team is 12-1 at home this season. The three other top teams in the Big Ten conference, Penn State, Wisconsin and Minnesota all lost inside of Huff Hall.

"If we can get a lot of people into Huff, I think it will be very difficult for teams to advance against us," Argabright said. "I think that is our biggest asset."

With three top 25 teams in Champaign vying to advance deep into the tournament, Illinois' home court advantage is indispensable. The boisterous Spike Squad, the student cheering section, sits behind the opposing team's bench and has taken teams out of matches before play begins.

"Huff is one of the toughest environments for other teams to come into with and play," O'Bryan said. "Our crowd is right on the floor and we have such great fans right now."

The majority of the Illini roster has not been in the NCAA Tournament before. The seniors and juniors were the only players at Illinois when the Illini last played in the NCAA tournament in 2001. In 2001 the Illini advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Arizona.

"Just being in the tournament for the first time is such an amazing anticipation because you don't know what to expect," Vandrey said. "There is a lot of anxiety but everyone is just ready to go out there and just play with heart."