Oct. 26, 2007

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Illinois volleyball team, led by its young roster of five freshman and two sophomores in the lineup, stunned the home Purdue Boilermakers in a three-game Big Ten sweep by game scores of 30-26, 30-28, 30-28. The Illini received another star performance from outside hitter Laura DeBruler, who knocked down a three game season-high 24 kills in the victory, while outside hitter Kylie McCulley returned to the lineup, posting 12 kills in her first match back after a six-week hiatus.

"With five freshman and two sophomores in the lineup for most of the match, and to come away with a 3-0 sweep on the road, was impressive," head coach Don Hardin said. "I also was really impressed with Hillary tonight. She needed some time to settle in at setter but it's a great win for the freshman setter to come out and play with that maturity. She has poise and confidence that she plays with that is great to see. She is still far away from where she can play, but she fought out there."

With the win, Illinois improved to 13-8 overall and 5-6 in Big Ten action, while Purdue fell to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in conference action.

Freshman setter Hillary Haen took on the starting responsibilities for the Illini tonight, delivering a career-high 40 assists, a kill and three block assists in only her second start in Big Ten action this season. Her leadership led to two Illini finishing in doubles figures (DeBruler, McCulley), while the middle attack was led by senior middle blocker Vicki Brown with seven kills and six block assists. In another top performance from the middle, it was Brown who downed the stretch that provided the final sparks to finish off a feisty Purdue squad, despite falling short of double figures in kills.

Freshman middle blocker Johanna Bangert rounded out the Illini middles, as she bounced five kills while carding two aces in the performance.

"After losing at home in five last time we faced them, we came out wanting this win," DeBruler said about the performance. "We were fired up tonight and played with a lot of heart. I thought as a whole, the entire team played well. Hillary did a great job tonight, and Lea was tremendous in the back row."

In another stellar match for the Illini defense, sophomore Ashley Edinger carded nine digs in the outing, while freshman defensive specialist Lea Zarytsky entered the game as a reliever, charting a career-high seven digs in the win. Senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Amy Palash served as one of the only upperclassmen on the court at times, as she picked up eight digs and an ace in the effort.

Illinois finishes its road trip as it takes on the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. (CT) at University Gym in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers and Illini are battling for positions in the Big Ten, as both teams are in the middle of the pack headed into the final stretch of Big Ten play.

MATCH RECAP
In game one, it was a battle between two teams that had each other sized up, as neither team took a surmountable lead as they traded points at 8-all. However, after a few quick kills and block by Purdue, it was the Boilermakers first to 10 as they led 10-9 in the early goings. Yet, Illinois sharpened its serve receive and began to light the fires under outside hitters Laura DeBruler and Kylie McCulley, who was making her first appearance in the lineup in over six weeks after recovering from a stress fracture in her foot. While McCulley's four kills in the opening game played a huge part in Illinois' lead late at 24-20, it was the play of DeBruler that made the difference. The Illini youngster pounded down a blistering 10 kills against just one error for a .450 hitting percentage in the opening frame, making the difference in the back-and-forth affair. Down the stretch, a sharp and fueled Illini offense punished the Boilermakers on the outside, as the duo-attack of DeBruler and McCulley combined for 14 of Illinois 17 kills in game one to lead the Orange and Blue to the game-one victory, 30-26.

With Illinois leading 1-0, game two began to play out in the same way as the opening contest as both two team's traded kills at 8-all. The home Boilermakers, however, fell behind again, as McCulley added in another kill to give Illinois the lead, 17-13. Yet, Purdue fought back to slim the Illini lead off a pair of UI errors, tying the affair at 22-all. Fending off a feisty Purdue offense, freshman setter Hillary Haen continued to pilot the offense and deliver assist to DeBruler, who lifted the Illini again with a key kill to end a Boilermaker run and tie the match at 26-all. Mental errors then plagued both teams in the final points, as both squads traded service errors, but a costly service error for Purdue gave Illinois the game-point situation at 29-28, while another Purdue hitting error gave Illinois the victory, 30-28.

Out of the break, Illinois came out ready for a sweep as a senior middle blocker Vicki Brown rocketed an early kill at the 10-foot line to give Illinois the 3-1 lead in game three. Extending the lead to 9-4, the Illini were rolling on all cylinders as DeBruler tossed in another demoralizing cross-court kill from the outside. However, a fired-up Purdue offense began to fire back as they reached within one at 21-20 before an outside kill fired off the arm of McCulley to end the run. Then Brown from the middle continued to spark the Illini offense with well-timed kills, two of which came in the final 10 points of the match. From there, a string of errors from the Boilermakers coupled with off-the-mark passing followed, while Illinois punished Purdue with every swing from DeBruler, who finished the match with 24 kills, nine in game three.

In the final points, it was Illinois who had match point at 29-28, while Purdue was on the verge of a comeback as they had rallied from 29-26. However, in what was the final dagger to the Boilermakers, Purdue committed their 12th service error that clipped the bottom of the net to give Illinois the match, 3-0, and game three, 30-28.