Aug. 28—CHAMPAIGN — The first text message Paityn Chapman received after entering the transfer portal last winter came from Chris Tamas.
Same with the first phone call.
Tamas was clearly making the soon-to-be-former Tennessee opposite hitter a priority. For good reason. The Illinois volleyball program had a need on the right side of its attack — an experienced big arm, in particular — and what Tamas had seen a few months earlier from the 6-foot-3 opposite piqued his interest in a real way.
"We actually saw her last year live when we were playing down in Nashville," the Illinois coach said. Tennessee and Purdue played the match ahead of Illinois' four-set win against Vanderbilt at the Broadway Block Party. The Vols lost to the Boilermakers, but Chapman delivered a match-high 19 kills with impressive efficiency.
"I watched her play and was like, 'Ooh, man. This kid's pretty good,'" Tamas continued. "When I saw her name pop in the portal, I went back and watched more film. I was like, 'This is a kid that reminds me a ton of a Raina Terry.' She can hit in the front row or the back row. Big presence. She's very lively out there."
Chapman ultimately entered the transfer portal after Tennessee wrapped its 20-8 season with a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament to Utah State. The Castle Rock, Colo., native finished her sophomore season with 165 kills and 40 blocks playing in 67 of 103 possible sets and was one of eight transfers out of the program.
Tamas' promptness in reaching out via text and phone call stood out to Chapman once she was officially in the portal. What truly struck a chord, however, was her conversations with Tamas. A mid-December visit to Champaign helped Chapman reach the conclusion Illinois needed to be her next stop.
A stop that will see her in an Illini uniform for the first time when Illinois hosts Cincinnati at 7 p.m. on Friday at Huff Hall in the season opener for both teams.
"There was this form of trust," Chapman said about her early discussions with Tamas. "He wants to be successful. He wants the best for our team. It just really stood out to me how he spoke and how he communicated. Once I got here and went on a visit, seeing him interact with the players and how he interacts with his family was a huge thing for me."
Entering the portal, of course, didn't come without some trepidation on Chapman's end.
"There's so much uncertainty when it comes to the transfer portal," she said. "You always have that little doubt of, 'Am I going to be picked up? Are people going to reach out?' In the end, that anxiety really fueled me, if anything. It taught me a lot. It made me know what I wanted."
Chapman's initial recruitment to Tennessee, she said, was based more on location and playing in the SEC. Two seasons in Knoxville, Tenn., and the decision to enter the transfer portal clarified what she valued. Chapman put more emphasis on coaching, environment and team culture and found that in the Illini.
Illinois, in turn, found the experienced opposite it needed.
It's a position Tamas said wasn't necessarily a strength for the program the last couple years. Chapman, while giving off Terry vibes, also reminded the Illinois coach of another former Illini in Megan Cooney with a skill set to draw attention on the right side and cause problems in a more well-rounded attack with either Taylor de Boer or Alyssa Aguayo occupying the other pin hitter position.
Tamas has also challenged Chapman to be a six-rotation player. It's not something she did much at Tennessee — she'll get the chance to play against her former school when the Illini visit the Volunteers for a 6 p.m. match next Tuesday in Knoxville that is part of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge — but the Illinois coach sees Chapman as effective right-back when she's not manning the front row in a dual threat role as a hitter and blocker.
"I want those players that want to do that," Tamas said. "You have to play six rotations when you're playing professional volleyball. It's not always a guarantee, but it's definitely the goal of what we try to get these players to. That's usually the big thing for us. We want them to have that opportunity. With her, specifically, she's got the skill sets to do it right off the bat."
Chapman has used her first eight months at Illinois not only to learn about her new team — a group she called the most competitive she's played with — but also about herself. About how she can grow on the court. About how she can lead for a program that finished 13-16 last season and missed the NCAA tournament.
Is Chapman the missing piece to help Illinois win their first NCAA tournament match since 2021? Stay tuned.
"I've actually learned a lot about myself and how take criticism almost or how I develop best," she said. "You need a lot of patience. I'm very ditzy. I have some videos I'm all over the place. Patience is something I've been able to give myself and give myself grace.
"I've also learned so much about how I want to be as a leader on the court. I might not be the most, 'Hey, we need to do this, this and this,' but I can be that positivity on the court for them, for my team."
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