Nov. 14, 2008

Champaign, Ill. - Many of the over 2,100 fans that packed Huff Hall Friday night had seen history before with the Illini taking out a number one team. It happened four years ago vs. USC, ending the Women of Troy's NCAA record 52-match winning streak. For a while it looked as if history might repeat itself or at least see the Illini be the first team this season to take a set from top-ranked Penn State. Although Illinois came the closet to doing the latter, in the end the Lions put it into gear for a 25-23, 25-17, 25-13 victory. It was Penn State's 53rd victory in a row, breaking USC's record.

Illinois was the aggressor early. The Illini used the arm of junior Kylie McCulley, who had six first-set kills, and some great digs from Ashley Edinger to build a 15-11 advantage. Penn State also had four service errors in the first set, giving the Illini an opening and forcing PSU coach Russ Rose to call an uncharacteristic timeout. McCulley tooled the block on the next point, pushing Illinois to a 16-11 advantage after a 4-0 run.

The teams traded side outs and after Laura DeBruler pounded one down from a tough angle, the Illini lead reached 19-15 and fans started to sense the upset. But the Lions proved their tenacity. Blair Brown, who hit a match-high .700 with seven kills, found the floor on other side of the court and Cathy Quilco served an ace, making it 19-17. With the score 22-22, Penn State forced three Illini attack errors, two on stuff blocks to take the set.

"Looking at the match as a whole, if an upset was to be in the making tonight, we had to take the first set," said Illinois head coach Don Hardin. "We had them playing our ball for the first and much of the second set. We were in position, but just not able to finish."

From there it was all Penn State. The Illini actually scored the first point in every set but couldn't sustain the momentum. The Lions, the leading hitting and blocking team in the country, posted a .400 attack percentage and out-blocked the Illini 13-3, including a 5-0 advantage in blocks in the third set.

Megan Hodge paced Penn State with 17 kills while hitting a robust .429. Nicole Fawcett posted a three-set double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.

Illinois sophomore Laura DeBruler proved why she is considered one of the best in the Big Ten with 12 kills and a .286 attack percentage. Illinois, however, hit just .031 in the final two sets as a team.

"They're all round a very athletic team," said Illinois middle blocker Johannah Bangert of Penn State. "They definitely have the height and really aggressive hitters."

Hardin was quick to point out just how important Saturday's match is to maintaining Illinois' standing as a possible top 16 NCAA seed. Illinois faces an Indiana Hoosiers team that is improving as the season is going on, but needs some wins down the stretch to earn an NCAA bid. First set is slated for 7 pm at Huff Hall.