Sept. 2, 2000

Box Score

Tallahasse, FL - The Illini volleyball team suffered its first loss of the young 2000 season, dropping the championship match of the Florida State Tournament to the host Lady Seminoles in straight games, 11-15, 6-15, 6-15, in Tallahassee on Saturday night.

Illinois began the match aggressively, claiming the first five points for an early 5-0 lead in game one. But Florida State battled back to tie the score at 8-8, and eventually pulled ahead and took the first game. The Illini then dropped games two and three as FSU's strong attack became too much for the Illinois block.

For the second match in a row, the Illini got outstanding play from its outside hitters in junior Shadia Haddad and sophomore Sue Webber. They each registered 20 kills, with Webber hitting .368 on the night in addition to Haddad's .349 attack percentage. Senior Betsy Spicer also tallied double-digits with 11 kills. Illinois hit .254 as a team compared to Florida State's impressive .434. The Illini were outblocked by the Lady Seminoles in the match 12-5.

Both setters, senior Heather Wilson and sophomore Betsy Eiserman saw playing time. Wilson earned the start and played until the midpoint of game two, where she was replaced by Eiserman who finished out the match.

Illinois had two players named to the all-tournament team in Spicer and Webber. Spicer hit .472 for the tourney, tallying 42 kills, 11 blocks, 25 digs, and seven service aces. Webber averaged 4.2 kills per game (59 total) while hitting .277, with 32 digs and also served seven aces.

Illinois, now 3-1 on the year, travels to DeKalb on Wednesday night to take on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.