Nov. 19, 2008

West Lafayette, Ind. - Illinois proved again battled tested on the road. The 16-ranked Illini withstood a fierce challenge from no. 18 Purdue in the Boilers' own gym and came away with a 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22 victory. The win improved Illinois to 6-2 on the road in the conference and 12-5 in the league in all matches. It also gave the Illini a game-and-a half advantage over Michigan and a two game lead over Purdue for third in the Big Ten.

"To beat a team as good as Purdue twice in a season is quite an accomplishment," said Illinois Head Coach Don Hardin.

Illinois (22-7 overall) dominated the serve-receive game, winning the ace category 5-2, but keeping the Boilers on their heels much of the night. Junior outside hitter Kylie McCulley led Illinois with 18 kills, while sophomore Laura DeBruler had seven of her 17 kills in the fourth set as the Illini completed the win. Right side hitter Michelle Bartsch was tough as well with 14 kills and a .290 hitting percentage.

"Our servers were really critical to our success tonight," Hardin added. "We kept them out of system a lot and our passers were really stable. This was the best serving team we faced all year. They were really firing bullets and our serve receivers handled it well."

The Illini also used the block to their advantage with five blocks in the third set en route to 11 on the night. Setter, now also right side hitter, Hillary Haen had a career high with six block assists, just three behind team leader Johannah Bangert, who added to her nation's leading block numbers with nine block assists.

Illinois was out to take no prisoners in the first set. After a convincing three-set victory over the Boilers four weeks ago, the Illini picked up right where they left off in the opening set Wednesday. Lizzie Bazzetta had a pair of aces in the first 15 points as the Illini built a 15-10 cushion. Haen and Bangert teamed on a block as the lead reached 20-12.

Purdue dashed to an early set two advantage, leading 10-5. Three Illinois blocks brought the Illini even at 10-10. For a while it looked as if Illinois might take the set, bolting to a 17-15 advantage. But the back slide attack from Purdue senior Stephanie Lynch and some key blocks gave the Boilers the second set.

Lynch and Kristen Arthurs who tough for Purdue. Lynch led the team with 19 kills while hitting .500, while Arthurs hit .414 with 15 kills. The rest of the Boilermaker team combined to hit .000, however, thanks to great serving and defense by the Illini. DeBruler recorded a double double with 17 digs while libero Ashley Edinger also added 17 digs.

The third set mirrored the first in many ways for Illinois with the Illini hitting .314 after hitting .312 in the opening frame. Illinois broke open a tight score with a 15-8 run, giving the Illini a commanding 23-16 advantage.

DeBruler turned up the wick in the fourth set, hitting .500 with seven kills. Still it looked for a while as if Purdue was going to force a fifth set. But with Purdue leading 15-11, the Illini went on a 7-2 run to take the lead for good, capped off by an ace from McCulley. DeBruler scored three straight points for Illinois, making it 21-20 and McCulley tooled the block to make it 23-21 before Illinois prevailed.

Illinois hosts Michigan State Saturday on Senior Night. First serve is 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.