Oct. 15, 2006

Stats

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois faced a tall order Sunday afternoon, playing undefeated and No. 2 ranked Penn State. Added to the fact, the Illini had to do so minus one of the nation's leader in kills in sophomore Kayani Turner, who has been playing through severe pain in her left leg most of the season. Despite those adversities Illinois played inspired and impressive volleyball in a 34-32, 30-23, 32-30 defeat at the hands of the Nittany Lions.

Illinois, who was coming off an impressive three-game sweep of No. 16 Ohio State Friday, had game points in both games one and three, which is rare against Penn State this year. The Lions (19-0, 8-0) have lost only five games all season and have swept 16 of 19 opponents. The Illini (12-6, 3-5) find themselves in a four-way tie for sixth in the conference with Ohio State, Michigan, and Northwestern and just a game behind Michigan State for fifth.

Without Turner, Illinois turned to freshman Kylie McCulley to hit outside. McCulley showed no fear in leading Illinois with 19 kills while hitting .265 against one of the nation's top defensive teams. Junior Amy Palash added 13 kills, while junior middle blocker Vicki Brown had 11 kills and hit .240.

"I knew yesterday that I would play a lot today," McCulley said. "However, it hit me right before the match that this would be a good opportunity for me."

"She did a great job and composed herself very well," fellow freshman Ashley Edinger said of McCulley. "We all had a great deal of confidence in her and she did an amazing job."

The crowd at Huff Hall recognized the intense battle that Illinois was giving a team that is expected to contend for the national title this year with several standing ovations throughout the day. Illinois never trailed throughout the first half of game one, but the Lions behind All-America candidate Nicole Fawcett stormed in front at 20-16.

Fawcett was the difference maker for PSU, tallying 11 of her match-high 20 kills in the first game and hitting .531 for the match, including .733 through the first two games. Illinois, meanwhile, turned to Palash to post the comeback in the opening game. Back-to-back kills from Palash, the second off the big Penn State block, made it 21-19. Palash had eight kills and hit .583 in the first game. Illinois meanwhile hit for a .267 clip as team in the opening game.

Down 24-21, the Illini scored three straight to tie the game and force a Penn State timeout. The Illinois defense made some spectacular saves. A total team effort in that department kept Illinois in it. Ashley Edinger (16 digs) and Lizzie Bazzetta (12 digs) were in double digits in digs, but Beth Vrdsky (7 digs), Stephanie Obermeier (7 digs) and Palash (5 digs) also played significant roles.

"Ashley came out and played like a champion," said Illinois head coach Don Hardin. "She brought a great deal of maturity and poise to the team this weekend."

McCulley was huge late in game one. Two kills and a stuff block with Vicki Brown gave Illinois a 26-25 lead. After two straight Penn State points, McCulley again blocked to tie it at 27-27. With the scored tied at 28, Edinger made a huge save setting up an open court, but Penn State was denied by Meghan Macdonald and Stephanie Alde, setting up the first of two Illinois game points. After Beth Vrdsky served an ace that caught the net cord and bounced in, Illinois led 32-31, but highly touted freshman Megan Hodge tied the score, before Fawcett finished the game with two kills.

Illinois and the crowd had put a lot of emotion into that first game, and Penn State took advantage of its momentum at the start of game two, bolting to a 17-9 lead. That was the only stretch of the match that Illinois did not match Penn State's level of play and intensity. Although the Illini never really threatened in game two, a strong showing from Brown brought the Illini to within 25-19, forcing a Lions timeout. PSU closed out the game at 30-23 after out-hitting the Illini .262-.089.

Game three was a carbon copy of the first. With the teams exchanging mini runs. Illini set McCulley 22 times in the game, and the freshman, playing her first complete match in the starting rotation, responded with nine kills in game three. When McCulley tooled the block midway through the game, Illinois led 20-17. Illinois, who hadn't had an answer for Fawcett all afternoon, finally caught up with the big swinging sophomore when Alde and Brown blocked a Fawcett offering to make it 22-20 in favor of Illinois.

The teams exchanged points, and with a Palash kill had game point with a 30-29 lead. After a scrambling rally, a roll shot from Alde just missed the end line and Penn State's Kris Brown served out the match.

For Penn State, Hodge had 14 kills and 11 digs, but hit just .111. Christa Harmotto had 10 kills.

Illinois has another shot at a ranked opponent, traveling to No. 9 Purdue Friday. "These matches were a positive step in the right direction," said Brown of the Penn State and Ohio State weekend. "We are happy that we came out strong and now we know what it takes to give us that extra push to get us over the top."

"I'm pleased with our performance today," Hardin said. "We are on to something with our fight and intensity. Our practices and preparation have been extremely focused which has given us great confidence."