Oct. 14, 2000

Box Score

University Park, Pa. - Playing in its fourth consecutive road match, the Illini volleyball team lost Saturday night to the nation's 12th ranked team, Penn State, in straight games by the score of 9-15, 6-15, 1-15. With the loss, Illinois moves to 10-9 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten Conference.

Penn State's block was the vital statistic in the match, as Illinois was unable to get the ball past the powerful Nittany Lion front row defense. PSU outblocked the Illini 9-1 in the first game and 5-3 in game two. For the match, Penn State outblocked Illinois 16-5.

Unable to find an answer for the Penn State block, Illinois hit negative as a team for the match, finishing with an attack percentage of -.011, compared to Penn State's .282 percentage. Leading the way for the Illini was senior middle blocker Betsy Spicer who had nine kills and hit .174. Sophomore setter Betsy Eiserman led the team with seven digs and also dished out 22 assists.

The well-traveled Illini have now played 14 of 19 matches overall and six of eight Big Ten matches on the road. UI finally returns to Huff Hall next weekend to begin a four-match home stand. The Illini take on Northwestern on Friday, Oct. 20 and Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 21. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.