Nov. 20, 2009

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Scott Murrell does his best to keep fans abreast of how many aces Illinois has for each match from his perch in the north balcony. Friday night was a bit of a challenge for the long-time Illini fan as Illinois served up 11 aces in a straight sets 25-9, 25-18, 25-18 sweep of the visiting Hawkeyes.

Sophomore libero Rachel Feldman kept Murrell hopping in the opening set. In the middle of a 10-0 run, Feldman served up three aces en route to four for the match.

"We wanted to come out fighting and really put the pressure on them," Feldman said, playing her fifth match as Illinois' starting libero. "We knew serving is something we can control. I know what it's like to be in serve receive. Getting an ace really puts the pressure on the other team."

Sophomore right side hitter Michelle Bartsch, playing every rotation this year, added three aces while freshman Jackie Wolfe and junior Laura DeBruler had two and one, respectively.

Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly says it's something the Illini have really started to excel at down the stretch.

"The last two matches were good in that regard," Hambly said. "We didn't get as many aces against Ohio State, but we served tough and got them out of system. It is really the first attack, so that is something we have put a lot of emphasis on."

The victory, the 13th in the last 14 matches for the fifth-ranked Illini, raises their record 22-4 overall and 14-3 in the Big Ten. The win, coupled with a Michigan victory over Minnesota, gives Illinois a two-match lead over the Gophers for second place in the Big Ten with just three to play. Iowa falls to 12-17 overall and 4-13 in conference play.

In addition to the aces, the tough serving kept Iowa from running an aggressive offense.

"A big part of their offense is the slide," Bartsch said. "We really got them out of system serving so they couldn't run it as much."

Bartsch led a balanced offensive attack with 11 kills. Senior Kylie McCulley added nine kills while hitting a career-best .615, and DeBruler and junior Johannah Bangert added eight kills apiece.

"Whenever the ball goes to (Bartsch), you know she's going to hit it hard," Feldman said. "She even does so when someone other than Hillary sets it up."

Illinois sided out at an astounding 89 percent in the first set and didn't cool off much from there, siding out at a 66 and 63 percent clip in the second and third sets, respectively. That prevented Illinois from putting up its typical strong blocking numbers. Freshman Erin Johnson was in on four of the Illini's six blocks on the night.

Iowa changed liberos for the third set and kept it close for a while, leading 7-5. Bartsch placed a serve perfectly in the middle of the defense for an ace, capping a 4-0 run and putting the Illini up for good. That also began a 13-3 rally where Feldman again served up an ace. The run gave Illinois a commanding 18-10 lead with the match victory in sight.

DeBruler had just her second match this year in single-digits in kills, but led three Illini with double-digit digs with 15 (McCulley and Feldman had 10 apiece). Junior Hillary Haen had 35 assists and a .422 kill percentage off her sets.

Illinois plays its final regular season home match Saturday night against Wisconsin. After the match, the team will honor its out-going seniors, McCulley and Ashley Edinger.