Hernandez becomes latest Illini to enter professional volleyball

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) -- The latest Illini volleyball product to take her skills to the pros is a homegrown talent. Bloomington native Averie Hernandez has signed her first professional volleyball contract to play in France with Terville Florange Olympique Club, the team announced this week. Hernandez is the latest in a line of Chris Tamas-era products to go pro, including Olympian Jordyn Poulter, Jacqueline Quade and Ali Bastianelli among others. Tamas attributes that continued success to how he runs his program, using his own pro experience and his assistant coaches' to set his athletes up to succeed at Illinois and beyond. "It just means that we're doing the right things here," Tamas said. We try to teach them how to play kind of international style. There are different rules internationally. We do have to play six rotations. You don't, there's not a lot of substitution rules as we have here in the U.S. and so for someone like Averie to go overseas, that just means she can play the all-around game." Hernandez led the Illini in aces during her senior campaign, playing in 60 total matches in two seasons. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.