Nov. 15, 2002

Final Stats

Madison, Wis. - The Illini volleyball team lost tonight in straight games to the 14th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, falling by the score of 20-30, 18-30, 22-30. With the loss, Illinois is now 11-13 overall and 5-10 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin meanwhile, improves to 19-7 on the season and is tied for second place in the league at 10-5.

The Illini were unable to stop Wisconsin's offensive attack, as the Badgers hit .385 for the match and racked up 64 kills, led by a match-high 20 from senior outside hitter Erin Byrd. Illinois meanwhile, could manage a hitting percentage of just .118. The Illini recorded a season-low 32 kills on the evening.

Junior middle blocker Shelly O'Bryan was the lone Illini player to reach double figures in kills, leading the team with 11. She hit a team-high .333, tallying only two errors in 27 swings. Melissa Vandrey added six kills while Sue Webber chipped in with five.

Sophomore libero Lauren Harks had a match-high 15 digs to lead the Illini, her 14th match of the season reaching double figures in digs, while Webber added 10 digs.

"Our passing was very poor tonight and that led to a lot of our problems on offense," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "We were unable to get much production from our left side hitters and we didn't pass well enough to set our middles with any consistency. I have to credit Wisconsin, their aggressive serving gave us fits and I thought they played an outstanding match."

The Illini wrap up their four-match road trip tomorrow night, facing the Northwestern Wildcats at 7 p.m. in Evanston, Ill.

Note: This match was televised by espn2 and will be shown tape-delay on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Noon CST.