Nov. 8, 2003
Final Stats
Champaign, Ill. -
Illinois-Iowa Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Illinois volleyball team swept Iowa in front of 1,902 fans at Huff Hall tonight by the score of 30-21, 30-25, 30-28. With the win, Illinois improves to 19-5 on the season and 10-4 in Big Ten play. The Illini also remain undefeated at home, improving to 9-0 on the year at Huff Hall. Iowa, meanwhile, drops to 5-19 overall and 0-14 in the conference. Illinois now sits in a three-way tie along with Wisconsin and Minnesota for second place in the Big Ten, with all three teams trailing league leader Penn State by just one match.
Sophomore outside hitter Rachel VanMeter led the Illini against the Hawkeyes with a match-high 21 kills on 42 swings for an impressive .357 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Lisa Argabright joined VanMeter in double figures, finishing with 12 kills. Setter Erin Virtue provided another gutsy performance, tallying 53 assists, 10 digs and a pair of aces. Jessica Belter had a match-high 15 digs along with eight kills and Shelly O'Bryan registered seven kills on .353 hitting to go along with two aces and four blocks.
VanMeter combined for 46 kills on the weekend, which included a career-high 25 kills against Minnesota on Friday
"It was really big to get that win last night against Minnesota, but we wanted to make sure there wasn't an emotional letdown tonight," VanMeter said. "I'm proud of the way we took care of business against Iowa, they were a team we knew we couldn't take lightly. My success this weekend is all contributed to my teammates. This doesn't happen without the great passing and setting they provided all weekend."
Next up, Illinois takes on the Northwestern Wildcats (16-10, 7-7) in a midweek match Wednesday night and then hosts No. 22 Wisconsin (18-7, 10-4) Saturday night. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.
