Sept. 2, 2005
Box Score
Dekalb, Ill. -
After kicking off the Northern Illinois Tournament with a 3-1 win over Austin Peay earlier in the day, the Fighting Illini continued their success by rolling over Indiana State in three games (30-19, 30-26, 30-9) on Friday.
Senior Rachel VanMeter, fully recovered from an unfortunate face injury during the first game of the day, led the way for the Illini with 25 kills and a .283 hitting percentage. Sophomore Vicki Brown exhibited how dominant she can be by recording seven kills with a hitting percentage of .500. Senior Rasa Virsilaite was the leader of the offense with 7 kills and an impressive five serving aces.
The Illini came out with a bang in the first game starting off with a 10-0 lead over the Sycamores. In the first ten points of the match Van Meter racked up five kills and a perfect hitting percentage. Illinois went on to win the match 30-19 with VanMeter finishing with 9 kills and sophomore Stephanie Obermeier tallying 12 sets.
The second game was the exact opposite of the first with the Sycamores keeping pace with the Illini. Freshman Lizzie Bazzetta took over for Obermeier at the setting position and contributed by dishing out nine sets. Virsilaite was a main source of offense for the Orange and Blue with six kills. VanMeter also had six kills including a powerful smash that would end the game at 30-26.
Looking to finish off Indiana State in three games (something the Illini have not been able to do in their first two matches of the season), Illinois kicked off the game with the best stretch of volleyball they had all day. Freshman Jana Wojcik, Virsilaite, and libero Beth Vrdsky were all part of a serving clinic, serving ace after ace and leading the Illini to a 14-1 early lead. The Illini's offense proved to be too much for the Sycamores in the end and Illinois went on to victory by a score of 30-9.
Illinois returns to Victor E. Court tomorrow at noon to face Wisconsin-Green Bay in their third game of the Northern Illinois Tournament. The Illini will also face Northern Illinois tomorrow evening at 7 p.m.
