University of Illinois
Northwestern
Illinois Falls to Northwestern in Five Games
September 27, 2002 | Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2002
Champaign, Ill. - Illinois let a 2-games-to-1 lead slip away tonight, falling to Northwestern in the Big Ten opener by a five-game score of 25-30, 30-22, 30-22, 23-30, 9-15 in front of 1,185 fans at Huff Hall. With the loss, the Illini fall to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Northwestern improves to 8-5 on the year and 1-0 in the league.
Northwestern came out strong and won the first game on the strength of .351 hitting as a team. The Illini bounced back however, posting back-to-back eight-point wins in games two and three. Illinois' blocking started to take its toll on Northwestern, and the Orange and Blue hit an efficient .458 in the third game, tallying just one error. But the Wildcats would not quit, fighting back to win the fourth game and tie the match at two games apiece.
In game five, the Illini got on the board first after a kill by Sue Webber. But the Wildcats answered by scoring six unanswered points to take a commanding 6-1 lead. Illinois found itself down by as many as eight points during the final game and could get no closer than four (9-13) before a kill by NU's Kelli Meyer and an attack error by Shelly O'Bryan closed out the match, giving the Wildcats their first win in Champaign since 1984.
Illinois had three players finish in double figures in kills, led by 16 each from juniors Lisa Argabright and Melissa Vandrey, tying season highs for both players. Senior Sue Webber added 15 kills and tallied a double-double with 13 digs. Sophomore libero Lauren Harks also finished in double figures in digs with 12.
Northwestern was led by Erika Lange's 18 kills on .382 hitting and Kelli Meyer's 13 kills on .417 hitting. Iwona Lodzik added a double-double with match highs of 21 kills and 14 digs.
The Illini return to action tomorrow night at Huff, facing the two-time defending Big Ten Champion and 13th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers at 7 p.m. Fans who bring their ticket stubs from the Illinois-Michigan football game will earn free admission to the match.
