Sept. 21, 2002
Final Stats
Salt Lake City, Utah -
The Fighting Illini saw their four-match winning streak come to an end tonight at the hands of 10th-ranked Utah, as the Illini lost in four games to the Utes by the score of 30-25, 27-30, 21-30, 23-30. With the loss, Illinois falls to 6-3 on the year, while Utah improves to 10-3.
The Illini came out of the gates strong, leading the entire way in game one and posting the victory. But Utah responded by earning three straight wins in games two, three and four to earn the victory.
The story of the match was Utah's blocking. The Utes racked up blocks throughout the match and ended up with 23.5 team blocks, as compared to seven by the Illini. Kim Turner had 11 blocks to lead Utah, while her teammate Lyndsey Phillips added nine blocks.
Defense dominated the match, as neither team hit above .150. Illinois ended the match with a hitting percentage of .065, while Utah hit .139. The main offensive weapon for the Illini throughout the evening was senior Sue Webber. Webber tallied a season-high 18 kills on .216 hitting. Other Illini players finishing in double figures in kills were outside hitters Jessica Belter and Melissa Vandrey, who noted 10 kills each. Vandrey finished with a double-double, registering a team-high 12 digs. Libero Lauren Harks added 10 digs for the Illini.
"Blocking and defense were the keys to the match tonight. Utah's blocking was phenomenal and I thought their backcourt defense was good as well," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "We stayed right with them and there was some really good volleyball played out there tonight by both teams, through four hard-fought games. We got great production from Sue Webber, she really turned it up a notch.
"Although we didn't get the victory, we can take a lot from this performance, hanging with a Top 10 team on the road," Hardin continued. "This weekend was a great precursor to lead into conference play."
The Illini open the 2002 Big Ten season at home next weekend, taking on Northwestern on Friday and Wisconsin on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.
