Oct. 25, 2002

Final Stats

Ann Arbor, Mich. - The Illini volleyball team dropped a three-game decision tonight at the hands of the host Michigan Wolverines, losing by a score of 25-30, 20-30, 26-30. With the loss, Illinois falls to .500 on the season with an overall record of 9-9. The Illini are now 3-6 in the Big Ten. Michigan meanwhile, improves to 11-8 on the year and 5-4 in conference play.

Illinois scored the first four points of game one and controlled the tempo early. But with the Illini on top 12-8, Michigan went on a 17-4 tear, highlighted by a string of seven consecutive points, to take a commanding 25-16 lead from which the Illini could not recover. Michigan hit .361 in the first game, compared to .211 hitting by the Illini. Melissa Vandrey had four kills in the game, while Shelly O'Bryan connected on three kills in four swings. Chantel Reedus had five kills on .500 hitting in the opening game for the Wolverines.

The momentum Michigan captured midway through the first game carried the Wolverines throughout game two, as Michigan led the entirety of the game. Illinois managed just one tie in the game at 1-1, and was forced to play catch-up from that point on. With the Illini trailing 7-6, Michigan went on a pivotal 6-1 run to move out in front by a score of 13-7. Illinois could get no closer than four points as Michigan's 30-20 win gave the hosts a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission. The Illini hit .093 in game two, while the Wolverines were over .300 again, hitting at a .316 clip. Vandrey had four kills for the Illini, while Sue Webber and Lisa Argabright added three each. Michigan setter Lisa Gamalski hit .800 in the game, tallying four kills while UM's Nicole Poquette added four kills as well.

Game three was a back-and-forth affair, featuring 14 ties and four lead changes. It was anyone's game heading down the stretch, as there were ties at 20-, 21-, 22-, 23-, 24-, and 25-all. But that's when Michigan made its move, as a serving error by O'Bryan, an attack error by Webber, and back-to-back kills by Reedus resulted in four straight UM points to give the Illini a 29-25 deficit. A kill by Betsy Eiserman held off match point for one play before a final kill by Reedus closed out the match. Argabright hit 1.000 in the third game for the Illini, racking up four kills in four swings, while Vandrey added three kills. But as in the first two games, the Illini could not slow down Michigan's attack, with the hosts hitting .326 in the final game, led by five kills apiece from Reedus and Erin Moore.

Illinois was outhit .333-to-.171 for the match, with the Wolverines owning a 56-40 advantage in kills. Melissa Vandrey led the Illini with 11 kills, while Lisa Argabright also finished in double figures in kills with 10. Argabright hit .444, while Shelly O'Bryan hit at a .357 clip with six kills. Michigan had three players in double figures in kills, led by a match-high 13 from senior Katrina Lehman on .435 hitting. Chantel Reedus tallied 11 kills while Erin Moore recorded the only double-double of the match with 10 kills and 10 digs.

"I was disappointed with what happened tonight, because I thought we weren't competing very hard in games one and two," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "The effort was much better in game three, but in this league you need to be ready to play from the get-go. We're still hitting too many balls out of bounds, instead of challenging the court more. This is obviously a pivotal point in the season, and we'll be looking for a better effort tomorrow."

Illinois heads to East Lansing tomorrow to face the 25th-ranked Michigan State Spartans. Match time is set for 2 p.m. central time.