Nov. 3, 2000

Box Score

East Lansing, Mich. - The Illinois volleyball team got a much needed victory Friday night in East Lansing, beating the 22nd ranked Michigan State Spartans in five games by the score of 15-6, 4-15, 15-12, 1-15, 15-12. The win snapped a three-match losing streak and evened Illinois' record at .500 on the season (12-12), while improving the Illini to 3-10 in Big Ten play. The Spartans, meanwhile, fall to 13-9 overall and 6-7 in the conference.

Illinois jumped on the Spartans early with a commanding win in the first game. But game two was just as lopsided in MSU's favor, and the teams went into the locker room tied at 1-1. The Illini won the third game behind strong serving, but the Spartans controlled the Illini in game four, out-hitting the Orange and Blue .600-to-.063 to force the rally game.

In game five, the Illini enjoyed leads of 3-0, 8-5, 10-7, and 12-9, only to see MSU fight back each time. With the score 13-12, MSU's Christie Landry served the ball into the net, and Betsy Spicer clinched the match with a block on Erin Hartley.

"I was proud of the way this team came back in game five, after disappointing play in games two and four," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "They really stuck together and showed some guts out there. We had an aggressive serving plan coming in, and the team executed it well, which was a big difference in the match."

Illinois was led by 18 kills each from senior Betsy Spicer and sophomore Anne Koester. Spicer hit .438 for the match, with just four errors in 32 attempts. The middle blocker added 12 digs and six blocks to her impressive hitting statistics. Also in double figures was junior Shadia Haddad, who had a double-double with 10 kills and a game high 17 digs, just one shy of her career high.

Illinois next travels to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday night at 6 p.m. central time.