Oct. 23, 2004

Final Stats

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois Head Coach Don Hardin believes his team has "come full circle" after an impressive three-game victory over previously unbeaten and seventh-ranked Ohio State. After being humbled in four games by #5 Penn State on Friday, the Illini rose to the occasion on Saturday with a convincing 30-26, 30-22, 30-24 victory over the Buckeyes in front of a crowd of over 2,000 on Saturday night at Huff Hall. Illinois improves to 14-5 overall, 6-4 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is now 19-1, 9-1 in the conference.

On Sept. 11, Illinois perked the ears of the volleyball world with a five-game victory over #1 USC, a team that had won an NCAA record 52 straight matches. The Illini moved to No. 9 in the polls that week. Over the past six weeks since the victory, Hardin's club has suffered a season-ending injury to its All-American setter and inspirational leader Erin Virtue and a loss of middle blocker Jen Hynds for eight matches.

Since that time the Illini have had to regroup, become accustomed to a freshman setter and learn again how to play at a high level. Hynds has returned to pre-conference form and the Illini have proven they can compete again against the best the nation has to offer. Indeed another victory over a Top Ten team, one of three unbeatens left in the rankings, can do nothing but lift the confidence of an Illinois team heading into the second half of conference play.

Ohio State has defeated #1 Minnesota and was coming off a five-game win at #5 Penn State. The Buckeyes star player, Stacey Gordon, came into the week as the nation's kills leader, averaging 7.17 per game. Gordon hit a shade under her .399 attack percentage, but was impressive with 24 kills and a .341 percentage. The rest of the Buckeyes hit only .185 as Gordon got 40 percent of the Buckeye attacks.

"There are a lot of scouting reports on how to stop Stacey Gordon crumpled up in the trash can; she's that good" Head Coach Don Hardin said. "We kept her somewhat contained but she showed why she is highly regarded tonight."

Afterward Hardin praised the performance of Stephanie Obermeier. "What a great win for a freshman setter," he said. "For this team to knock off another Top Ten opponent after all the adversity they have gone through, I think, is remarkable."

Obermeier had 48 assists in the three-game match, above her season average of 13.53 assists per game and showed confidence in going to the middle and the outside. Junior outside hitter Rasa Virsilaite had 16 kills and five digs while hitting .333. Fellow outside hitter Rachel VanMeter is playing at a high level. One week after posting 22 kills against #2 Minnesota in a four-game match, VanMeter tallied 19 kills and hit .533 vs. Ohio State.

"We pulled together after last night," Virsilaite said of the difference between the Penn State and Ohio State matches. "Tonight we were communicating with each other. Whenever a team does that they have a greater chance of winning."

Senior Jessica Belter likewise had a good night with nine kills and a .615 attack percentage while Hynds was solid as well with nine kills and five blocks. The blocks were a huge factor in the match. The Illini had 12 team blocks (six from Meghan Macdonald) compared to Ohio State's five. Illinois had six aces and the Buckeyes' just one.

"Ohio State is one of the best serving teams in the Big Ten," noted Hardin. "Our serve receive tonight was phenomenal."

Illinois was in control of the match from the very beginning. Ohio State had just two leads in any game and that was 1-0 in both games one and two. The Illini led the rest of the way. The Illini hit .377 for the match, including .536 in game two. Ohio State by comparison hit just .248, including .167 in game two and .158 in game three.

The Illini bolted to a 14-7 lead in game one and OSU would get no closer than 26-23 before VanMeter closed out the game. In game two the Illini went on a 16-10 run to turn an 11-9 lead into a commanding 27-19 advantage. The third game appeared would be closely contested at the beginning with the game tied at 5-5, but the Illini rattled off five straight points, including two on back-to-back blocks to take a 10-5 advantage. The lead grew to 20-12 and 25-17, and the Illini closed out a convincing victory.

Illinois plays at Michigan State and Michigan next Friday and Saturday and returns home to meet Wisconsin (Nov. 5) and Northwestern (Nov. 6) the following weekend.