Oct. 13, 2006

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois held the 16th-ranked team in the nation to just a .083 hitting percentage in an impressive 30-20, 30-24, 30-21 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes Friday night at Huff Hall. Kayani Turner, who entered the night ranked 17th nationally in kills per game tallied 19 kills on the night while hitting a solid .459. Senior middle blocker Meghan Macdonald had arguably her best match of the year with 10 kills, 10 blocks and a .643 attack percentage. The ten total blocks and nine block assists were both career highs for Macdonald.

"It was not so much shock as a sigh of relief," Turner said of the team's inspired play. "Something clicked tonight and we were just able to play our style of ball. It just reaffirms that if we play with this type of attitude, we can play with anyone."

The crowd, many of whom were getting revved up for Illini Basketball Madness later in the evening, was into the match from the start and played a key role in a major turnaround midway through game one. Illinois trailed 17-15 then exploded for eight straight points to take a commanding 25-17 advantage. The Buckeyes never really threatened the remainder of the night.

Sophomore Lizzie Bazzetta served the final seven in that run and did a masterful job on defense where she posted 10 digs, and in distributing the ball, where she tallied 42 assists. The 14 assists per game average is slightly above her 13.77 coming in which ranked second in the nation. Freshman libero Ashley Edinger led the team in digs with 11.

The duo of Turner and Macdonald really got their motors running in that stretch in game one, amassing seven and five kills respectively, in the game. The Illini defense limited OSU to a -.056 percentage in the opening game thanks in part to 5.5 Illinois blocks for the game. Macdonald keyed a 12.5-6.0 advantage in blocking for the night.

"You could see the determination on her face and in her body and positioning," Turner said of Macdonald's performance. "If I can see it from the front row, the back row can see it, the fans can see, and definitely the coaches could see it. She had a great night blocking."

With the defense and serving keeping Ohio State off balance most of the night, the Illini could get aggressive offensively. Illinois (12-5, 3-4 in the Big Ten) hit .350 and .345, respectively, in the final two games to finish at .308 for match.

Illinois built leads of 15-10 and 21-13 in game two, the final point coming on an Amy Palash ace. Ohio State (13-4, 3-4) closed to within 26-23, but Turner and junior Stephanie Alde had punishing kills to make it 28-23 before the Illini closed out the game.

Vicki Brown's kill made it 16-9 Illinois in game three, and the fans could sense the victory. Ohio State got to within 20-17, but not closer. Only Ohio State's Danielle Meyer ranked ahead of Turner in kills in the Big Ten coming into the night, but the Illini held Meyer to just 10 kills, while limiting her to a .129 percentage. Ohio State was second to only Penn State in attack percentage (.298), but hit just .083 as a team vs. Illinois.

"We kept them out of rhythm most of the night," Illinois head coach Don Hardin said. "We blocked a few balls early and kept them out of system with our strong serving. We stayed aggressive and not complacent, and didn't let Ohio State get back into the game. We just kept fighting. Macdonald was a big difference for us tonight."

Illinois will try to keep the momentum going against No. 2 Penn State, who brings an 18-0 record into Sunday's 1 p.m. match at Huff Hall.