Sept. 18, 2009

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - No. 14 Illinois received an impressive performance from freshman Erin Johnson, who hit a sizzling .588 with 10 kills and five blocks to propel the Illini to a 3-1 victory over Louisville (7-4) in the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge. The Orange and Blue improved to 7-1 on the season thanks to set scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-13 and 25-20. Junior Laura DeBruler paced the Illini with 19 kills, falling just short of breaking the Illinois record for 20-kill matches.

The Illini dropped the opening set, despite six kills from DeBruler and four from senior Kylie McCulley. The Cardinals had five service errors, but out-hit the Illini .250 to .116 thanks to four kills apiece from Lola Arslanbekova and Lecia Brown. Down 21-19, Illinois rattled off three consecutive kills to take the advantage, but were unable to hold on as the Cardinals grabbed four of the final five points to win the set.

"We just needed to get into our game after dropping the first set, but played steady for the rest of the match," head coach Kevin Hambly said. "I liked that we weren't affected by the loss, and we just got our stuff together."

DeBruler again posted six kills in the second set to lead the Illini, who hit .182 compared to a zero mark from the Cardinals. Illinois controlled the start of the second stanza and jumped out to a 17-9 lead before letting the Cardinals back within one at 23-22. After a service error from Louisville, DeBruler evened the match at 1 apiece with a kill on set point.

Illinois dominated the third set, hitting a solid .324 and holding Louisville to only 13 points. The Illini, who never trailed in the frame, used a balanced attack to garner a 2-1 advantage in the match. DeBruler and McCulley each had four kills followed by sophomore Michelle Bartsch and Johnson with three and junior Johannah Bangert with two.

The Illini and Cardinals battled throughout the fourth frame, but with the set knotted at 17, the Orange and Blue pulled away and closed out the match on an 8-3 run. Johnson led the way with four kills in the fourth, including pounding down the final two points to seal the victory.

"Louisville is a really good team and will get better and better, so I'm glad we could get the win against them," Hambly said. "Our middles did a very nice job against this defense which we will see a lot of in the Big Ten, so it was really good preparation."

Illinois out-hit the Cardinals .207 to .093, held the advantage in assists and digs with totals of 50-35 and 52-46, respectively, but was edged in blocks 13-12. The Illini had four aces, but both teams recorded double-digit figures in service errors.

Junior setter Hillary Haen tallied a double-double with 45 assists and 10 digs, while McCulley finished the day with 12 kills. Bangert led the Illini with seven blocks, while Edinger turned in 16 digs.

Illinois returns to the court on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT against Ohio before heading home to open Big Ten play next weekend.