Sept. 6, 2008

Box Score

St. Louis, MO - No. 19 Illinois played a pair of competitive sets against no. 3 Stanford, before falling for the first time this season, then by defeated William & Mary in three sets, 25-23, 25-20, 25-13.

The Illini once again out blocked their opponent 10-2 in that win over the Tribe. Sophomore middle blocker Johannah Bangert led all Illini by hitting .643 in the second match of the day.

Bangert and fellow sophomore Laura DeBruler were each named to the all-tournament team, DeBruler for the second week in a row. Bangert hit .463 with 25 kills and 10 block assists for the weekend. DeBruler reached double digits in kills all three matches - 14 in a win over Saint Louis Friday, 12 vs. Stanford and 10 in the win over William & Mary.

Illinois moves to 5-1 on the season ahead of a trio of matches next weekend at the Tennessee Comcast Classic - vs. Dayton, host Tennessee and Gardner-Webb.

"We had great passing this match and that really helped us in getting to the middles," Bangert said following the victory over William & Mary. "We focused a lot on the slide this spring and I think that's helped me out a lot out on the court."

"We've been getting better connection with Johannah throughout in the early part of this season," head coach Don Hardin said. "Today she was on, her timing was excellent and the setters were feeding her. We're just a different team out there when we get that connection from her."

"William & Mary is a great defensive team," Hardin added. "They are scrappy and just get everything up there and that frustrated us in the first game. I was really happy with the way the team came out of the locker room after the second game and took care of business."

After battling through the first two sets, the Illini rolled to an early 12-4 lead in the third set and never looked back. Junior Kylie McCulley dominated the net tacking on 17 kills and six digs.

In the first match of the day against No. 3 Stanford, the Illini battled hard but could not overcome the Cardinal, falling in three sets, 25-15, 25-22, 25-22. Bangert was a dominant force for the Illini on the middle block, hitting .571 with nine kills on 14 attempts. DeBruler had eight digs to go along with her 12 kills.

The block was once again a force for the Illini as it had been all weekend long, as Abby Nelson, who had eight blocks assists in the victory over Saint Louis on Friday, tallied five more in the early afternoon match against Stanford.

Illinois' best chance of taking a game from the favored Cardinal came in set two when the Illini led 16-14 and 20-18, before being out-scored 7-2 the remainder of that set.

"We came out of the locker room definitely distracted and revved up," head coach Don Hardin said. "We needed to calm down and we did that throughout the course of the match. I'm happy with the way the team is learning and progressing and this is something we have to go through."