CHAMPAIGN — First home match of the season.
Defending national champion Stanford on the schedule.
Former Illinois coach Kevin Hambly leading the Cardinal.
A sellout crowd of 4,152 at Huff Hall wasn't exactly a surprise. Fans turned out in droves to catch Illinois take on the No. 4 team in the country led by its former coach. Hambly got polite applause when he was announced before the start of the match. First-year Illini coach Chris Tamas drew a roar from the partisan crowd.
But home court advantage wasn't quite enough. Illinois took late leads in each of the first two sets but couldn't close the door on the Cardinal (5-1).