Oct. 9, 1999

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--The Illini volleyball team capped off a terrific weekend by sweeping Wisconsin 15-4, 15-7, 15-10, in front of 1,880 fans at Huff Hall Saturday night. The win was Illinois' first in its last eight matches against the Badgers, dating back to October 20, 1995, when the Illini won in Madison. Illinois last won at home against UW on October 7, 1994.

Sophomore outside hitter Shadia Haddad had a big night offensively, leading the Illini with 15 kills in a team high 31 attempts. Haddad came up with one big play after another, and look as if she's becoming the go to player in the offense.

"I think there's an emerging star we're starting to see, and that's Shadia," head coach Don Hardin said. "We went to her all night and she responded very well." Illinois was the aggressor all match long, jumping out in front and holding on to leads in all three games. In fact, the Badgers led only three times the entire match (once in game one and twice in game three), and each time by just a one point margin.

Junior middle blocker Betsy Spicer had another brilliant game, recording eight kills and four blocks. Spicer hit .636 in this match to follow up her performance against Purdue on Friday when she hit a career high .857. In 25 total attempts on the weekend, Spicer tallied just one error.

Illinois also solved its serving problems that plagued the team against Purdue. After having 13 service errors against the Boilermakers, the Illini committed just four errors against the Badgers. The team continued its strong defensive play with 52 digs and 18 blocks.

"I was really impressed with our defense again tonight," Hardin said. "All weekend long the passing and the blocking was excellent."

Illinois continues to rack up the victories. The team has won 9 of its last 10 matches to improve to 9-3 on the season. The team is also in second place in the Big Ten with a 5-1 record.

Illinois now prepares for a road trip next weekend to Iowa on Friday and Minnesota on Saturday.