Oct. 3, 1999

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The University of Illinois volleyball team defeated Ohio State, 3-2, this afternoon on the campus of Ohio State University. With the win Illinois improves to 7-4 on the year and 3-1 in conference play. The Buckeyes fall to 7-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten.

?Winning on the road is a premium in the Big Ten this year,? Head Coach Don Hardin said. ?I?m proud of this team to have come back and challenged after Friday night. Not too many teams will get a split when they travel to Penn State and Ohio State this year.?

Illinois dropped game one of the match 15-4 before coming back to win games two and three, 15-5 and 15-3, before dropping game four 15-9 and then winning the rally game 15-10. Illinois is now 2-1 in five-game matches.

Sophomore Shadia Haddad led the Illinois attack with a career-high 26 kills in 47 swings. Betsy Spicer added 16 kills and hit a team-high .519 while senior setter Melissa Beitz spread out 62 assists.

?Shadia had a great match. Hitting .426 from the left side is incredible. She has an exciting career ahead of her at Illinois.?

The Buckeyes were led by Jen Flynn who had 17 kills and Dana Stearns who had 15.

Illinois returns to action next weekend in Huff Hall. Illinois hosts Purdue Friday evening at 7 p.m. and Wisconsin Saturday at the same time.