Nov. 24, 2006

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Stephanie Obermeier registered a double-double against Penn State on Friday night, but the effort fell short as the Illinois volleyball team dropped its match against Penn State, 3-0, at the Recreational Building in University Park. Despite solid efforts from Obermeier who finished with 20 assists and 10 digs, and the Illini's offensive leader freshman Kylie McCulley with seven kills, the Nittany Lions closed out the season sweep of the Illini by game scores of 30-22, 30-23, 30-13.

An injured Illinois lineup never could get things rolling against the nation's No. 5-ranked team. With the loss, Illinois dropped to 15-14, 6-13 in the Big Ten, while Penn State improved to 28-2, 17-2 in league action.

"With the all the injuries, we're doing the best we can," head coach Don Hardin said about the match. "We have young players taking on too much responsibility early in their careers because of that. I can't be upset with our players because they are being asked to play out of position."

Illinois, despite the injuries, looked sharp in the opening game as they traded points with one of the top teams in the country. The Illini continued to keep the game close at 12-12, keeping one of the best offenses in the nation below a .200 hitting percentage. From that point on, however, the defensive effort, including eight digs in the match by freshman Ashley Edinger, could not hold off the Nittany Lions as they went on a run to close out the game 30-22.

Penn State then picked up where it left off in game one, jumping out to a quick 10-5 lead in game two. It came down to hitting errors for the Illini, who carded 22 in the match to just 27 kills. The offensive slump would prove to be too much to overcome, as the Nittany Lions tighten their hold on the contest behind a 30-23 game-two victory, taking a 2-0 lead in the match heading into the break.

For the remainder of the night, the Illinois offense, which included efforts from Stephanie Alde, with six kills, and sophomore Kayani Turner, with five kills, were outmatched by the potent combination of PSU's Megan Hodge and Nicole Fawcett, who pounded down 19 and 14 kills, respectively, in the win.

The duo of Hodge and Fawcett would be the driving force for the Lions in game three, as Illinois' lack of depth on the court due to injury would become evident in the 30-13 game-three loss.

"I think mentally we also knew we were playing the fifth-ranked team in the country and that weighed on our minds a little bit," Hardin said.

Illinois returns to action when it takes on Ohio State on Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio for its season finale. The match will feature the final matches for Illinois' senior class of Meghan Macdonald, Obermeier and Beth Vrdsky.