Every sport has contenders, every sport has pretenders — luckily every sport has ways to tell the two apart.

The Illinois women's volleyball team will be at UConn this weekend to determine where they stand.

The Connecticut Invitational is a two-day tournament where the Huskies will have their Gampel Pavilion rocking when the Illini come to town, but Illinois is not intimidated.

The women are coming off their best performances of the year after last weekend's State Farm tournament and are not showing any signs of letting up.

"As good as we played last weekend on film we were able to pick up stuff to work on and took it into this week's practice so that we can continue getting better," senior Lisa Argabright said.

Illinois head coach Don Hardin strongly believes in using practice as a barometer for how his team will play when it is match time.

"We have been very demanding in practice," Hardin said. "Our practices have been hard and we have made sure to keep our consistency."

Junior Lauren Harks agrees.

"Our practices have been intense and physical, but for us they are the same as when we first came to camp on Aug. 7," she said.

"We had a tough week," Argabright said. "It was hard because of some fatigue, but we pushed through it, which only makes us stronger as a team, proving that we play well even through tough times. It also shows our maturity."

Harks will be leading the new defense where she will make the reads of the opponents' attack.

"I am prepared," Harks said. "We did a little scouting but I think that if we win it will be because we have played like we are capable; what matters most is our performance and doing what we can."

Illinois will open against Manhattan on Friday and then play accordingly on Saturday, advancing to either the winners' or losers' bracket. The other bracket will match UConn against the Akron Zips. All three teams Illinois could face will be competitive.

"A lot has to do with our concentration," Harks said. "Friday is going to be Friday and we can't look forward to Saturday."

The Illini are confident their play from the last weekend will carry over to this tournament. Aggressive fans could be just the weapon to dismantle a team on a roll.

"This team has their own energy level, and can block out their surroundings," Hardin said. "They have the ability to supply themselves with their own enthusiasm; at Illinois State they were able to quiet the crowd pretty quickly and take over the match."

The Illini will take the tournament one step at a time and play their game — if the momentum from last weekend boards the plane to Connecticut with them, they have a chance to not only quiet the crowd but to leave the Gampel Pavilion with a few more trophies to decorate the varsity room at Huff Hall.