Sept. 4, 2005
Box Score
Dekalb, Ill. -
With another strong performance by senior Rachel VanMeter, the Fighting Illini tallied their third victory of the tournament on Saturday by defeating Wisconsin-Green Bay by a score of 30-27, 30-27, 30-25. Even though the Illini wrapped the match up in three games, Green Bay was extremely competitive, challenging Illinois down to the wire of each game.
VanMeter continued her domination of the NIU Tournament by posting 25 kills along with a hitting percentage of .392 in the match. She was set up by sophomore Stephanie Obermeier who recorded 49 sets while playing all three games.
Along with the power of VanMeter's arm, sophomore Vicki Brown (9 kills), senior Rasa Virsilaite (8 kills), and junior Meghan Macdonald (6 kills) supplied the extra source of offence the Illini needed to make it over the hump each game.
The Illini started the day off on a 4-0 run with a dominating kill by VanMeter on the first point. Wisconsin-Green Bay kept pace with Illinois throughout the next portion, tying it up at 5-5. Illinois maintained a small lead with kills by VanMeter, Brown, and Virsilaite to go up on Green Bay by a score of 13-8.
The score stayed close late into the game with Green Bay tying it up at 24-24, 25-25, and 27-27. Coach Hardin subbed in freshman Lizzie Bazzetta at 28-27 where she served an ace to make the score 29-27. Bazzetta went on to serve the game-winning point on her next serve.
The second game was just as competitive as the first with Green Bay nipping at the heels of the Illini. Illinois looked to pull away late in the match with several kills from VanMeter, but Green Bay came back to tie it up at 24-24, 25-25, and 26-26. Once again, Coach Hardin subbed Bazzetta into the game where she serveda critical point to extend the Illini lead to 28-26. Freshman Jana Wojcik served the game-winning point two plays later to finish the game at 30-27. VanMeter had nine kills and built her attack percentage up to .421 in the game.
Wisconsin-Green Bay captured their first lead of the day early in the third game (2-0). The Illini counter-attacked with an 8-0 run, including several kills from VanMeter, Brown, and Macdonald. The run came to an end when Green Bay made their way back, tying the game up at 10-10.
Illinois quickly regained their composure with a big block by Brown and Virsilaite to make the score 14-11. VanMeter set the tone for the rest of the match with a major kill coming off of a picture-perfect set from Obermeier to make the score 24-18. The match ended on a Macdonald kill to make the score 30-25.
With the win over Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Fighting Illini improve to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Northern Illinois Tournament. They return to Victor E. Court later today at 7 p.m. to face the Huskies of Northern Illinois.
