Nov. 15, 2009

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 5 Illini volleyball team returned to its winning ways on Sunday, defeating Ohio State 3-1 (25-17, 25-8, 18-25, 25-21) at St. John Arena. Senior Kylie McCulley hit .344 and notched a match-high 15 kills and 14 digs to lead Illinois, who improved to 21-4 overall and 13-3 in the Big Ten. Aggressive serving by the Illini befuddled the Buckeyes and continually forced Ohio State (21-8, 9-7 Big Ten) out of system.

"Our girls responded today and played at a high level," head coach Kevin Hambly said. "We really showed what we are made of in the first two sets, and I'm proud of the response we had as a team. Our serving really put them out of system the entire match and that took their middle out of it, which was huge."

The Illini jumped out to a quick start, handily winning the first set behind four kills from junior Laura DeBruler and three service aces. Solid passing led to 16 digs and 12 assists in the opening frame for the Illini, while the Buckeyes passing broke down, as Ohio State only recorded six assists and a zero hitting percentage. Freshman Erin Johnson played well up front, adding three kills and two blocks to the mix.

In the second set, Illinois picked up where it left off, controlling the frame and not allowing the Buckeyes to reach double digits. DeBruler posted four kills again, and the Illini block recorded three more kills to shut down the Buckeyes, who were held to four kills and a -.190 attack percentage in the second stanza. The Illini hit .400 for the frame, as McCulley began to heat up with three kills.

The Buckeyes battled back to take the third set thanks to a perfect attack percentage from Kristen Dozier, who tallied six kills in six attacks. McCulley had four more kills in the frame, but couldn't overcome the .355 attack percentage by Ohio State.

The Illini and Buckeyes went back-and-forth in the fourth frame, but the Orange and Blue grabbed the lead midway through the set and never relinquished it. Ahead 19-16, Illinois played sideout volleyball for the final 11 points to wrap up the match. McCulley and Bartsch caught fire in the fourth set, netting six kills and five kills, respectively, to seal the victory for the Illini. Bartsch hit .625, while McCulley attacked at a .545 clip.

"We are a pretty steady team," Hambly said. "Laura (DeBruler) started out really hot, Kylie (McCulley) ended really strong and Michelle (Bartsch) had some big swings, especially in the fourth set."

DeBruler finished the match with 14 kills, while sophomore Michelle Bartsch notched 10. Illinois posted double-digit blocks (10) for the third time in the last four matches and were paced by five block assists from Johannah Bangert. Junior setter Hillary Haen controlled the tempo with 44 assists, while sophomore libero Rachel Feldman added 10 digs.

Up Next: Illinois heads home for a pair of matches at Huff Hall next weekend, as the Illini face Iowa on Friday and Wisconsin on Saturday. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT.