Nov. 22, 2003
Final Stats
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. -
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The Fighting Illini volleyball team continued its steady play tonight, defeating Purdue in four games on the Boilers' home court by the score of 23-30, 30-26, 30-20, 30-21. With tonight's victory, Illinois extends its winning streak to six straight matches and improves to 23-5 on the season and 14-4 in the Big Ten. Purdue meanwhile, falls to 13-16 on the year and 6-12 in the conference.
The Boilermakers came out strong in the first game taking it by the score 30-23, sending a message to the Illini that they could be in for a long night. But the Orange and Blue steamrolled the next three games using some suffocating defense and timely hitting.
Illinois controlled the match in a number of categories including, outhitting the Boilers .266-to-.137 for the match, highlighted by the Illini's .400 attack percentage in game three. Blocking was another key area were the Orange and Blue held an advantage. The Illini were extremely effective throughout the night, controlling the net with 13 blocks to just six for Purdue. Assists and digs were other areas the Illini owned an advantage 59-to-52 and 58-to-55, respectively.
"I thought we were in trouble early, we had some difficulty passing and it just became infectious throughout our team in the first game," Head Coach Don Hardin said. "I thought Rachel VanMeter was outstanding again tonight and Shelly O'Bryan really displayed her mobility on defense, leading by example with getting on the floor and making the hustle plays."
VanMeter continued her hot-streak with a match-high 21 kills; she ends the weekend with 40 kills. O'Bryan also had a stellar match, hitting .478 on the night with 14 kills.
Joining VanMeter and O'Bryan in double figures in kills was senior Melissa Vandrey with 11 kills. Juniors Erin Virtue and Kathleen Bazzetta led the Illini in the dig department with 13 and 10, respectively
"I was worried about this trip, these are good teams that play a lot different when they are at home," Don Hardin said. "Credit our team for playing well on the road this season and especially this weekend, adapting to the hostile environments and different style of play."
Illinois wraps up the regular season at home next weekend with two big matches, playing host to Michigan on Friday, Nov. 28 and Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 29. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.
