Nov. 18, 2005

Final Stats

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois senior Rasa Virsilaite has said she wanted to leave next year's returnees something to build on over the final stages of the season. Virsilaite and the Illini have done just that winning four of the final six matches at Huff Hall this year, including the finale over Indiana, 30-27, 30-23, 30-24 Friday night. Illinois moves to 15-14 overall, 6-12 in the Big Ten. Indiana falls to 9-20, 2-15 in the conference.

Fittingly on Senior Night, both seniors Virsilaite and Rachel VanMeter were huge in the victory. VanMeter, who set an Illinois record with 99 attacks on Wednesday, came out swinging again Friday for a team-high 26 in 57 swings for a .298 hitting night. VanMeter had ten kills in game one and eight each in the final two games. Virsilaite, meanwhile, had some crowd-pleasing digs to along with her nine kills and .467 attack percentage.

"It's hard to believe this is our last match at Huff," VanMeter said. "It has been a special place to play. We definitely had a little more adrenaline tonight, wanting to end our home season with a win."

"We played a solid match all the way around," Virsilaite said. "Our passing, setting, and hitting were all working. It's a good feeling to end our time at Huff really strong."

Illinois got some great defense from a variety of players. In a three-game match, five players had at least six digs, led by Beth Vrdsky's 15. Lizzie Bazzetta sprayed sets to a several players as well. Vicki Brown and Meghan Macdonald were tough out of the middle with eight and seven kills, respectively, while Rachel Henderson had five kills and four assists.

"Our seniors have talked about wanting to end the season on a high note," said Illinois Coach Don Hardin. "We came out really relaxed tonight. Indiana, like any team you play in the Big Ten, is capable of giving us a run. But we were able to finish strong in each game, something we've been working on."

The teams traded points in the first game before Indiana took a 25-23 lead. The Illini, however, scored seven of the final nine points to claim the game. VanMeter had five kills in the stretch.

The Illini played solid volleyball in taking charge of game two. The Illini went on a 5-0 run off the serve of Virsilaite, who delivered two of her three aces in that stretch. Virsilaite also scored the final point of the game. That marked the first time all season that Illinois had been up 2-0 at home and the first time since Sept. 10 vs. Rutgers in Las Vegas.

Illinois never trailed in the third game, building a 26-20 lead on a Bazzetta service ace. Virsilaite, fittingly, ended the match with a booming swing from the left side.

Illinois ends the regular season next weekend at Minnesota and Iowa.