College Notebook: Highland's Raina Terry coming back to Illinois after All-American season

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Raina Terry decided to run it back.

One of the all-time great volleyball players in University of Illinois history, the Highland grad wrapped up her senior year in the fall of 2023 and will return for the 2024 campaign as a graduate student.

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Terry, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter, was simply a force at the net for Illinois (16-14, 11-9 Big Ten), recording 539 kills for 4.69 per set, which ranked second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally. She was ninth in the nation and second in the conference in points with 618 total and 5.37 per set. Her 1,516 attacks and 13.18 attacks per set were third nationally and led the Big Ten.

Besides hitting .204 at the net, she was third on the team in blocks with 74 and second in service aces with 36.

Terry posted 20 or more kills in 10 matches with seven of those coming in Big Ten play. In 30 matches this year, she led the Illini in kills in 28 of them. She helped Illinois split two matches with Ohio State, recording 55 kills and five aces in the two against the Buckeyes.

She repeated her spot on the Big Ten's first team and was an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region Team member for a second straight season. She was named fourth-team All-American by VolleyballMag. She was selected to participate in the USA Volleyball National Team Open Program in Colorado Springs in February

Terry ranks 10th on the Illini's all-time kill list with 1,634 and is fourth in aces with 164. She is the only active player in the Big Ten with more than 1,500 kills and 150 aces.

Terry also is getting it done in the classroom, finishing as an Academic All-Big Ten pick with a major in kinesiology.

But Terry wasn't the only volleyball player from the area who enjoyed a big fall in college. Here are some other products and their accomplishments from 2023:

● Like Terry, Highland grad Ashlynn Belcher is playing at the highest level. The 5-9 sophomore is a setter at Old Dominion (14-17, 6-10 Sun Belt). She played in 72 sets this season, handing our 50 assists and recording 64 digs. She had 26 assists against James Madison and 11 against George Washington, plus 12 digs at Virginia.

● Kendall Stover, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter, is another Highland alum finding success in college volleyball. She made second-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for a second straight year after starting all 32 games and playing in 109 sets.

She posted 282 kills, 315 digs, 42 blocks and 28 aces as Grand Valley State (27-5, 16-2) won the regular season title and ended as GLIAC Tournament runners-up. They advanced to the NCAA Division II regionals.

Stover recorded 10 games with 10 or more kills and eight double-doubles with kills and digs. Her two best performances came with 16 kills and 17 digs against Tiffin and 16 kills and 15 digs against Purdue Northwest.

● Already a two-time NCAA Division II All-American, North Union grad Journey Blevins transferred to powerhouse Gannon and became a three-time All-American as a junior, making third team in 2023.

The 5-11 outside hitter put up 502 kills for 4.22 per set and a .228 hitting percentage. She added 10 aces, 259 digs and 33 blocks. She scored 554 points for an average of 4.66 per set. She had four 20-or-more-kill matches with a high of 27 against Clarion, plus reached double digits in digs 10 times with a high of 18 against California (Pa.). She had at least 10 kills in 30 of 32 matches.

Gannon won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division with a 14-2 record and went 27-5 overall after winning the PSAC Tournament. The team lost in the NCAA Atlantic Region semifinals, snapping a 10-match winning streak in the regional that stretched back to 2019.

Blevins was first-team all-region and All-PSAC West.

● Zoya Winkelfoos is another Highland grad playing volleyball at the next level. The 5-7 freshman defensive specialist appeared in 12 matches for Findlay and served eight aces with four against Lake Erie College. The Oilers were ranked eighth in the NCAA Midwest Region Poll and finished third in the Great-Midwest Athletic Conference behind co-champs Hillsdale and Walsh.

● At Ashland University, Makenna Belcher earned first-team GMAC honors for a second straight year as a junior 5-9 outside hitter. The Highland grad finished with 428 kills, 51 assists, 31 aces, 359 digs and 44 blocks, while hitting .230 at the net. She was a two-time GMAC Athlete of the Week and an academic all-district selection after posting a 3.91 grade point average in exercise science. Next season she will try to become the fifth AU volleyball player in history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her career.

● Also at AU, River Valley's Bailey Ruth had a breakout season. The 6-foot junior middle blocker became a starter and appeared in 108 sets, putting up 237 kills and a team-high 125 blocks, while hitting .262. Ruth booked 17 kills and 19 points against West Liberty, three aces against Lake Erie and nine blocks against Thomas More. She was a GMAC Athlete of the Week for Sept. 5, and her 3.81 GPA in accounting earned her an academic all-district nod.

● Highland's Darcie Walters completed her senior year as a libero at Rio Grande (20-11). She made appearances in 26 matches for the NAIA program, getting 13 aces, 61 digs and 125 service receptions. Also at Rio Grande, North Union's Kayla Sedgwick was a sophomore libero, making 16 starts in 30 matches and ending with 15 aces, 292 service receptions and 214 digs.

● Alissa Holler ended her senior year at Capital (6-19) as a 5-10 right-side hitter and outside hitter from Pleasant. She had 147 kills, 62 digs, 17 blocks and 159 points. Six times she reached double figures in kills, and had a high of 12 against Bluffton. She also had three blocks against Mount Union and seven digs against Manchester.

● Olivia Kyrk was injured for a portion of her senior year at Earlham (8-17), but the 6-foot middle hitter from River Valley killed 12 balls against Illinois College and 11 against Blackburn. She ended the year with 51 kills, 12 blocks and 59 points, while hitting .252.

The next college notebook will feature other fall athletes from around the area, while another one will focus on the spring athletes as they wrap up their 2024 seasons. Anyone with information on a Marion-area college athlete should reach out to the Marion Star's Rob McCurdy at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, X @McMotorsport or Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: College Notebook: Highland grads enjoying big career in volleyball