When the University of Illinois volleyball team plays No. 16 Arkansas on Friday night, the visitors will bring a national ranking onto the court, too.

The Illini (6-1) are rated 22nd in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25, released Monday. It's Illinois' first national ranking since the week of Oct. 7-13, 1997, when it was 25th.

After finishing one spot out of the Top 25 last week, the Illini moved into the poll on the heels of a five-game victory over then-No. 7 Texas on Friday in the Chicago Challenger tournament. The next night, Illinois lost in three games to No. 1 Penn State.

Besides the UI and Penn State, four other Big Ten Conference teams made this week's Top 25: No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 25 Minnesota.