Nov. 24, 2001

Final Stats

Ann Arbor, Mich. - The Illinois Fighting Illini volleyball team posted another memorable comeback tonight, charging back from a two-game deficit to defeat the Michigan Wolverines in a five-game thriller by the score of 23-30, 28-30, 30-24, 34-32, 15-9. With the victory, Illinois secures its first 20-win season since 1998 with a 20-8 overall record, and finishes the Big Ten season in fourth place with a 13-7 league record. Michigan meanwhile, ends the season below .500 with a final record of 13-14 overall and 9-11 in the conference.

Sophomore middle blocker Lisa Argabright had the finest match of her young career, posting a career-high 22 kills on match-high .538 hitting. She recorded just one hitting error in 39 swings on the evening. The 22 kills for Argabright bettered her previous high of 20 kills vs. both Indiana and Purdue.

Fellow middle blocker Lydia Gard registered 17 kills and had a team-high five blocks for the Illini, while senior Shadia Haddad tallied her 12th double-double of the season with 12 kills and a match-high 21 digs. Also finishing in double figures in kills for the Illini was junior Sue Webber, who rebounded from a slow start to finish the match with 10 kills.

Junior setter Betsy Eiserman set an outstanding match for the Illini, doling out a season-high 62 assists as four Illini finished in double-figures in kills. Eiserman also added a season-high 16 digs for the UI effort.

The Illini now await the announcement of the 2001 NCAA Tournament field. The 64-team bracket will be unveiled on Monday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. CST.