Nov. 1, 2006

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois head coach Don Hardin said once again that the getting close, but not quite getting over the top is taking its toll on his club.

"To get close in games and not be able to come away with wins is discouraging for everybody," Hardin said. "I saw a lot of fight early on and midway through the match, but we are facing an internal battle right now to try to get our fight back for the entire match."

That rang true again Wednesday night in a 30-25, 25-30, 30-26, 30-27 defeat to Northwestern (12-10, 6-7) at Huff Hall. In game three, for example, Illinois used the big block and the arm of freshman outside hitter Kylie McCulley to come back from a 15-8 deficit to tie it at 18-18, only to fall behind again. Then in game four, the Illini rallied from an 8-4 deficit to tie it at 12-12 before the Wildcats took control with an 8-2 run.

McCulley was a bright spot on the day as was fellow freshman Ashley Edinger, who tallied 18 digs. McCulley has been working the back row in practice with the absence of Kristine Anderson, who is out for the year with an ACL injury, and Amy Palash, who is also nursing an injury that has kept her out of practice. Wednesday, McCulley was put back to pass for the first time this season and responded with 20 kills, two digs and a service ace.

"If you didn't have a roster in your hand and you were seeing us for the first time, you wouldn't know who the freshmen are," Hardin said. "Inexperience is not an issue for us. We aren't winning as a team. The good news is we have plenty of season left to get our fight back in us."

For a time, it looked as if that fight was coming back. In game two, Illinois charged in front 5-0 off the service of Lizzie Bazzetta, who tossed in an ace in the rally. Although Northwestern battled back, the Wildcats never did take the lead in the game. With the game tied at 20, Edinger served up a pair of aces to put the Illini in front for good. Junior Stefanie Alde (6 kills) had a pair of kills down the stretch against her former team before Beth Vrdsky finished off the game with a service ace. The Illini had ten aces on the night.

The other three games were carbon copies of one another with Illinois showing glimpses of strong play, but not consistent enough to get the job done. "We need better consistency at all positions," Hardin said. "We need everyone at practice healthy to get a hold of that consistency."

Lindsay Anderson (21 kills) and Courtnie Paulus (13 kills) paced the Northwestern attack, which hit .262 for the match, including .444 in the first game.

Illinois hit .325 in game three and held the Wildcats to just a .088 average in winning the second game. Middle blockers Meghan Macdonald and Vicki Brown backed up McCulley offensively, with 11 and nine kills, respectively. Macdonald, the sixth-leading blocker in the Big Ten, posted eight vs. Northwestern, while Illinois totaled ten as a team.