Nov. 4, 2005
Final Stats
Madison, Wis. -
Illinois battled No. 10 Wisconsin point for point in front of over 4,000 fans at the Wisconsin Fieldhouse and nearly pulled off its second road win over a ranked opponent this season. In the end the host Badgers escaped with a 30-22, 23-30, 30-24, 26-30, 15-12 victory to stay in a second place tie in the Big Ten at 18-4 overall and 10-3 in the league. Illinois falls to 13-11 overall and 4-9 in the Big Ten. The loss also halts Illinois' two-game winning streak in the conference. The Illini play at Northwestern on Saturday evening.
Senior outside hitter Rachel VanMeter had a monumental effort with a double-double - 27 kills and 11 digs. In the process VanMeter becomes just the fifth Illinois player with 1,500 career kills, now standing at 1507 with seven matches to play.
"I have mixed emotions," said Illinois Head Coach Don Hardin. "We had a chance for a huge national upset tonight. On the other hand we're playing better volleyball and played right with the No. 10 ranked team in the nation."
The Illini had five players reach double digits in kills. Rasa Virsilaite had some huge swings to finish second on the night with 15 kills followed by junior middle blocker Meghan Macdonald (12), Vicki Brown (11), and Kayani Turner (10).
The Illini showed that they weren't intimated by the partisan crowd, taking a 20-7 lead in the second before winning that game 30-23. Illinois dominated every phase in taking that game. VanMeter was especially potent with nine kills in that game. In taking a 9-4 lead, the Illini had seven kills in nine swings for a .778 attack percentage to that point. The Illini hit .277 overall for the game.
Virsilaite had the most impressive kill of the game as Illinois took a 10-4 advantage, increasing its edge to 14-6, and 20-7.
Although Wisconsin won game three, the Illini carried some momentum into game four. Wisconsin used the block to turn a 15-13 lead into a 26-19 advantage before the Illini used the final part of the game to gain some confidence for game four. Rachel VanMeter fired an ace and Turner and Macdonald combined for a weak side block to bring the Illini within 27-24 before Wisconsin served out the game.
Illinois jumped to the early edge in game four. Turner had five kills in the fourth game and combined on another block with Macdonald. Freshman Lizzie Bazzetta (57 assists, 10 digs) served up four straight points to give Illinois a 7-1 advantage. Wisconsin came roaring back to take a 16-15 and seemed to be headed for a four-game win.
Down 21-19, Illinois rallied again. When Virsilaite and Brown combined on a block the Illini pulled in front 25-22 en route to a 30-26 win.
In the fifth game, Illinois rallied again. Down 6-3, the Illini rolled off four straight points, the final point on a Bazzetta ace to take a 7-6 edge. However, Wisconsin's big gun Sheila Shaw, who has held in check most of the match, had four kills in helping Wisconsin pull out the victory.
Beth Vrdsky led three Illinois players in double digits in digs with 21. Aubrey Meirerotto paced Wisconsin with 19 kills.
