CHAMPAIGN — Spring practices hold an extra amount of importance for Illinois volleyball coach Chris Tamas.
The Illini might be in the gym all summer together during captains' practices, but those are a no-go for Tamas and his coaching staff.
The time between fall practices starting — when the Illinois coaches can once again work with their team — and the first match of the season is only about 14 days. If there's going to be some lineup tinkering or experimentation, it has to happen in the spring.
"Once the season gets rolling — once we get after it so to speak — it really gets difficult to kind of crack lineups and experiment with too many things," Tamas said.