Oct. 26, 2002

Final Stats

East Lansing, Mich. - The Illini fought back from a 2-1 deficit to take the 25th-ranked Michigan State Spartans to the wire before falling in five games by the score of 40-38, 22-30, 21-30, 30-25, 14-16 at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Mich. This match marked the completion of the first round of play in the double-round robin Big Ten schedule. With the loss, Illinois moves to 9-10 overall and 3-7 in league play, while Michigan State is now 14-6 on the season and 6-4 in the conference.

Illinois jumped out in front of the host Spartans by claiming the first game in record-fashion. It took 11 game-point opportunities before the Illini finally clinched the win by the score of 40-38. That score ties the UI school record for the highest scoring single game, equaling the Illini's 40-38 victory against Missouri in last season's NCAA Tournament.

After dropping games two and three, Illinois rebounded with a superb effort in game four to force the team's sixth five-game match of the year and the fourth in the last five matches. The Illini jumped out in front in the decisive game and led by as many as four points at 10-6. But Michigan State score scored five of the next six points to tie the match at 11-11. With the score knotted at 13-all, Sue Webber registered a kill to give the Illini match point. But the hosts answered with a pair of kills by Kim Schram sandwiched around a hitting error by Webber to score the final three points and close out the match.

Illinois had five players finish in double figures in kills, led by a season-high and match-high 20 from junior Lisa Argabright. Sue Webber notched her sixth double-double of the season with 14 kills and team-high 16 digs, while Melissa Vandrey also recorded 15 kills. Jessica Belter (14 kills) and Shelly O'Bryan (11 kills) were the other Illini players in double figures.

Kyla Smith had a team-high 18 kills to lead five Spartan players in double figures. Jenny Rood tallied 15 kills while Angela Morley registered 12 kills and a match-high 11 blocks.

Both teams hit under .200 for the match, with Michigan State outhitting the Illini .191-to-.156. One of the most decisive statistics in the match was blocking, where the Spartans enjoyed a 24.5-to-9 advantage in team blocks. MSU also had an 8-2 advantage in service aces.

"Many people would consider this a heartbreaking loss, but we're not looking at it that way," Head Coach Don Hardin said following the match. "I'm proud of the way we played today, we showed great determination and fight the entire match. I think we made a lot of progress, and I really think this will be a momentum builder as we prepare for the second half of Big Ten play."

Illinois returns home next weekend for a pair of matches. The Illini host No. 8 Minnesota on Friday, Nov. 1 and Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 2. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.