Sept. 15, 2007

Final Stats

Toledo, Ohio - Before the season, Illinois head coach Don Hardin and his staff set a goal of winning at least eight pre-conference matches. With a 30-26, 30-25, 25-30, 30-21 victory at Toledo, the Illini reach that goal with an 8-2 record. The match also marks the 200th win by Hardin at Illinois. His record now stands at 200-143 and is approaching 400 wins overall with a 392-219 mark.

"I guess it means you've been around a long time," said the 20-year coaching veteran. "The match itself allows us to reach one of our pre-season goals and feel a sense of accomplishment heading into the Big Ten schedule."

Senior Vicki Brown had 15 kills in 28 swings and hit .429 in her return to her hometown of Toledo. "It was fun to see a lot people who haven't seen me play in awhile. My high school coach was here and it was just a great atmosphere."

"What a great opportunity for Vicki to be able to come back to her hometown and put on a performance like that," Hardin said. "She was really on tonight with very few hitting errors. Getting her that much involved is a big plus for our team."

Freshman Laura DeBruler had another impressive outing with 23 kills, including eight in game two, to go along with 11 digs. DeBruler leads Illinois with 174 kills in 37 games played this season. Stefanie Alde had a season-high 15 kills, three off her career best. Johannah Bangert added nine kills and hit .533.

Illinois hit .341 and .361 as a team in the first two games in winning those going away. Alde had five kills in the first game and the Illini used the aggressive serve to convert four service aces in that game.

Toledo's aggressive serve put Illinois out of system and off rhythm in the third game, but the Illini recovered to again be the aggressor in the third game, hitting .290 in that game. Shannon Strachan had eight kills in game three for Toledo (3-8) and finished with 24 kills for the match.

The Illini finished with 10 aces as a team, paced by three apiece from Amy Palash and Ashley Edinger. Lizzie Bazzetta Illinois led in digs 71-57 with four players in double digits - Edinger (23), Palash (14), DeBruler (13) and junior Kristine Anderson (10).

"We have been able to win some matches perhaps not playing our best volleyball this season," Hardin said. "That is a positive sign for us. Our passing and blocking weren't great at times tonight, but we were able to make up for that in other ways."

Illinois starts Big Ten play Wednesday at home against No. 9 Wisconsin before traveling to No. 10 Michigan Friday. That will also mark the first match on the Big Ten Network.