Nov. 28, 2008

Madison, Wis. - Fifteenth-ranked Illinois used a huge advantage in serve receive and the reliable arm of All-America candidate Laura DeBruler to post a convincing 25-18, 25-16, 25-23 victory over Wisconsin in Madison. DeBruler had 10 of her match-high 16 kills in the first set as Illinois out-hit the Badgers .286-.203 to post its first win at Wisconsin Fieldhouse since 1995. With the win, the Illini improve to 23-7 overall and 14-5 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin, who came into the match holding to precarious NCAA hopes, fell to 17-14 overall and 7-12 in the conference.

"We controlled the serve-receive game in the first two sets and had really good ball control for the match," said Illinois head coach Don Hardin. "Over the last decade, it's been really hard to win in this gym, so to take it in three is really a significant accomplishment."

Aside from a stretch early in set one and midway through set three, it was all Illinois. The Illini held an 8-1 advantage in service aces and a 9-3 edge in blocks. In additional to her 16 kills, DeBruler paced the Illini with three aces, while Johannah Bangert, the nation's leader in blocks, had five block assists.

Wisconsin got off to a hot start in set one, exploding to a 10-7 lead behind the arm of Brittany Dolgner, who had four kills in the set. Down 14-11, the Illini went on a 10-1 run to take control of the set, scoring the last six points off the serve of Abby Nelson. DeBruler was magnificent in the opening set with 10 kills and three digs while hitting .529. Illinois scored 14 of the final 18 points overall in that set.

Illinois continued that stretch of good play into the second set, charging to a 10-3 lead, giving the Illini 24 of 31 points over a stretch in the first two sets. The Illini had 6.5 blocks in the second set as the lead reached 20-9. Bangert was in on three of those in the first 10 points of the second set while Haen and Nelson teamed on three blocks later in the set.

Illinois dominated the serve-receive game in the first two sets particularly the second set where Illinois had four aces. DeBruler had three aces in one rotation as Illinois darted to that early lead. Illinois also hit .379 in the second set.

"Laura was on fire in the first two sets with an All-American type performance," Hardin said.

Bangert had a great match offensively as well with six kills in 11 attacks for a .545 attack percentage. She was especially strong early in set three as Illinois got out to a 14-9 lead and looked to close it out. The arms of Bittany Dolgner (10 kills) and Caity Dupont (11 kills) helped Wisconsin go on a 7-1 run and take a 16-15 lead.

From there it was back and forth. Nelson's second ace of the night gave the Illini a 20-19 lead, only to see a Badger ace put Wisconsin in front 21-20. DeBruler came through with a big swing down the line and teamed with Bangert on a block to make it 22-21 Illinois. After Wisconsin tied it up, Illinois scored three of the final four points of the match, the game winner off the arm of Kyle McCulley.

Haen tied Bangert for the team lead in blocks with five while also posting 22 assists and eight digs. McCulley led the Illini with 14 digs.

Illinois ends the regular season Saturday night at Northwestern.