UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Illinois volleyball team fought until the end, but it was not enough as the Illini suffered a three-set (25-19, 25-17, 26-24) setback on Friday (September 29) night at Rec Hall.
The Illini (11-3, 2-1) were led by nine kills each from sophomore Jacqueline Quade, redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince and freshman Megan Cooney, while junior Ali Bastianelli registered a match-high nine blocks to go along with seven kills on a .500 hitting percentage on the night.
The Illini jumped out to an early 5-2 lead on the block of juniors Ali Bastianelli and Jordyn Poulter to open the match, but six-straight points from the Nittany Lions put the home team up 13-8. Back-to-back points, including a kill from freshman Megan Cooney, cut the deficit to four at 21-17, Penn State responded by taking the last four of six points for the 25-19 set one win.
It was all Penn State in the second as a 6-1 start to the set turned into a 17-9 lead, before PSU went on to take a 2-0 advantage in the match with a 25-17 victory.
The Nittany Lions broke an early tie with three-straight points for an 8-5 lead and pushed it out to 16-11. The Illini responded with an 8-0 run – including five blocks from Bastianelli, three from Quade and two from Cooney – to take a 19-16 edge. PSU answered back with a 7-1 run of their own to propel them to a 23-20 lead. UI continued to battle as a bad PSU set tied things at 23-23 and an Illini block gave the visitors a set point at 24-23. Penn State then shut the door with three-straight points for the 26-24 set three win and the 3-0 match victory.
As a team, the Illini posted a .200 hitting percentage with junior Jordyn Poulter totaling 35 assists.
Defensively, UI outblocked the Nittany Lions (12-1, 2-1) with nine blocks to their seven, with Quade and Cooney each contributing three.
Senior Brandi Donnelly paced the Illini with a match-high 14 digs.
The Illini will finish up their Big Ten Conference-opening road swing on Sunday (October 1) with an 11 a.m. CT match against Rutgers at College Avenue Gym in New Brunswick, N.J.
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