Oct. 23, 1999

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--The 20th-ranked University of Illinois volleyball team got back in the winning column by defeating the Michigan Wolverines in four games, 15-7, 7-15, 15-5, 15-4, in front of 2,090 fans at Huff Hall Saturday night.

Illinois' passing and ball control, which was sub-par against Michigan State on Friday, improved greatly against the Wolverines. Michigan had only three service aces on the night. The major contributor to Illinois' fine defensive play was senior outside hitter Sara Sorrell. Sorrell seemingly got her hands on every Michigan attack, finishing the night with a 18 digs.

"Sara did everything tonight," head coach Don Hardin said. "This was definitely her best all-around performance of the season."

Sorrell tallied a double-double on the night, by adding 12 kills to her 18 digs. Junior middle blocker Betsy Spicer led the team with 16 kills, and was once again unstoppable on the slide. Spicer also had nine digs and five blocks.

"I thought that Sara and Betsy showed incredible leadership tonight," Hardin said. "Betsy has really been working hard on her defense, and she did a phenomenal job tonight."

Illinois out-blocked Michigan 23-6 in the match, and held the Wolverines to a hitting percentage of just .147. UI hit .326, led by Spicer's .538 and Lydia Gard's .333.

The Illini now sit at 12-4 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten. Next weekend, Illinois travels to Wisconsin and Purdue.