Oct. 9, 2009

Box Score
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After having only three of the first 11 matches go more than three sets, No. 12 Illinois found itself in its third straight that went five. The experience of the first two paid dividends in a 24-26, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 15-9 victory over Purdue in a match that lasted 2:32 in front a boisterous crowd of 1,922 at Huff Hall.

Outside hitters Laura DeBruler and Kylie McCulley each totaled 20 kills in the match, but it was the Illini defense that finally wore the Boilermakers down in the final two sets. Purdue hit just .032 in the final two sets thanks to seven Illinois team blocks and 11 digs from Ashley Edinger. Junior Johannah Bangert, who came within one of the Illinois single-match block assists record twice last season, tied the 18-year old mark held by Kellie Hebeisen on Saturday with 13 block assists. Overall, Illinois (11-3, 3-2) out-blocked Purdue 17.5-10. Edinger meanwhile had 32 digs, tying her own mark for sixth on the Illini single-match list and beating her season best by 14.

"I thought Johannah and Ashley really carried us in that fifth set," Hambly said. "Ashley was everywhere and Jo really helped stop their strong left-side attack."

For Hambly, it was another of what promises to be a season of wars in the rugged Big Ten. Perseverance was the key, said the coach. Both teams sided out at over a 70 percent clip and hit over .300 in the first set. Purdue (9-7, 1-4) edged Illinois .370-.364 in that department, while taking a set it never trailed despite being tied 10 times. Carrie Gurnell hit .571 with five kills and Tiffany Fisher hit .500 with four kills. Gurnell led three Purdue players in double figures with 16 kills overall on the night.

Illinois set the tone early in the second set as the Illini took advantage of eight Purdue hitting errors. The Illini, however, saw their 15-8 lead disappear as Gurnell and Kristen Arthurs served tough. After the set was tied at 17-17, 18-18, and 19-19, the Illini surged in front thanks to kills from Hillary Haen (54 assists, 11 digs), Erin Johnson and Michelle Bartsch (13 kills, 8 digs, 9 blocks).

The Illini had 13 hitting errors and a service error in the third set as Purdue overcame a late 22-20 deficit to score six of the final eight points of the set. Four of those points came due to winning long rallies and forcing the Illini to make mistakes.

Through three sets, the Illini had 25 hitting errors and 10 service errors, but things changed dramatically in the final two sets as the Illini tallied just four hitting errors, while tallying seven blocks. Purdue, which terminated rallies in the opening set, started to drop long rallies against the Illini.

"I like the way we responded to them scoring easily on the left," Hambly said. "We just kept after it. We started playing great defense and really giving them some trouble."

Led by the engineering of Haen, it was the Illini that started to dominate the left. DeBruler and McCulley combined for 15 kills while hitting .333 and .316, respectively in the final two sets. In fact, Illinois never trailed the rest of the way. McCulley had her third straight match with at least 19 kills.

"I'm feeling good about the way I'm playing," McCulley said. "I'm going after it and not thinking too much. It's really been exciting."

As far as going the distance again, McCulley added, "We weren't surprised. We knew exactly what to do and learned from our previous experiences."

Bangert and Bartsch had two emphatic blocks, which gave Illinois a 4-2 lead and set the tone for the way the fifth set would go. From there DeBruler and McCulley exchanged blows as the Illini built an insurmountable 12-7 lead. Just for good measure, Bartsch and Bangert rejected another would-be Purdue attack for the 13th point before a pair of Purdue errors gave the match to the Illini.

"We have some players who can score and make plays and that showed in the final two sets," Hambly said. "We got better serves, relaxed and really got into a groove."

Purdue played its seventh five-set match of the season and is now 2-5 in those matches. Upstart Indiana, which won in five at Purdue last week, invades Huff Hall Saturday night, bringing a solid 13-5 record. First serve is 7 p.m. The Purdue-Illinois match will shown on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday.