Sept. 12, 2008

Box Score

No. 17 Illinois dropped it's first match of the day at the Tennessee Comcast Classic, falling in a tight five setter to the Dayton Flyers at the Thompson-Boling Arena. However, the Illini quickly rebounded defeating the Tennessee Volunteers in yet another five setter, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11.

"It was a long day, but we dug in deep tonight and answered the call," Illinois head coach Don Hardin said. "Anytime we can win a close five gamer on the road, it's important for us. When you can win those close matches on the road it strengthens your team."

Illinois had a slow start against the Lady Volunteers, hitting only .167 after the first two sets. The Illini came out firing on all cylinders in the third set, hitting .298 with 19 kills to take the set, 25-22. The Lady Vols would not go down without a fight, evening the match at two sets a piece, taking the fourth set, 25-21, to force the fifth and deciding set.

The outcome proved to be different for the Illini in their second five set match of the day, as they came out with an intensity level that the Lady Vols could not match. The Orange and Blue kept the momentum on their side throughout the set, taking the lead 5-4 and never looked back as they took the set and the match, 15-11.

The Illini were led by sophomore Laura DeBruler who tallied 17 kills and 20 digs. Freshman Michelle Bartsch added a season high 15 kills, while sophomore setter Hillary Haen tallied a season-high 33 assists for the Illini.

In the first match of the day, against the Dayton Flyers the Illini stormed through the first set 25-20, hitting .429 compared to .188 from the Flyers. The Flyers battled through to take the second set, 25-23, with Dayton out hitting the Illini .244-.127.

The Illini came out ready to take care of business in the third set. DeBruler led all players, in the third set hitting .353 with seven kills. In the fourth set, the Flyers took the lead from the start and never looked back, taking the set 25-21, evening the match at two sets all.

The Flyers came out with the momentum on their side in the fifth set. Dayton took six straight points from the Orange and Blue to take an early 8-1 lead. The Illini pushed hard but could not find their rhythm, falling 15-8, as the Flyers took the match 20-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-8. DeBruler tacked on 23 kills, had four service aces, along with 13 digs for the Orange and Blue.

"I have to give credit to the Dayton block," Hardin added. "They have the best blocking duo that we've come up against so far this season, and they did a great job against us this afternoon. I think early in the year this match could be good for our team and we'll learn something from this."

The Illini wrap up the 2008 Tennessee Comcast Classic on Sunday, Sept. 14 when they face Gardner-Webb at 9:30 a.m. CT.