Sept. 25, 2009

PHOTO GALLERY

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Michelle Bartsch had 17 kills and Laura DeBruler 16 as 15th-ranked Illinois pushed past a much improved Ohio State team in four sets at Huff Hall Friday. The Illini won their Big Ten opener over the Buckeyes 25-17, 19-25, 25-23, 25-17 in front of 1,348 fans. The win gives Illinois (9-1) a seven-match winning streak headed into Saturday's night's home showdown with No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Penn State. The Nittany Lions won their NCAA record 77th straight match in three sets over Northwestern Friday.

"As a team we try to stay calm, especially in high-pressure situations," Bartsch said. "It was a battle tonight. We love the competition so it was fun for us."

In the first set, the Illini relied on the arm of DeBruler who had nearly half of her match total of kills (seven) in the opening frame while hitting .545. DeBruler had a pair of kills in a 6-0 run as the Illini built a 12-6 lead and never trailed from there. The Illini also forced eight Buckeye errors in that set and 29 attack errors by OSU for the night. Illinois put on an offensive display, hitting .481 for the set en route to a .262 percentage for the evening.

Illinois had some uncharacteristic errors itself in the second set, nine to be exact, while Ohio State' combo of Kristen Dozier and Katie Dull took off. Each had four kills in the second set and tied for the team lead with 14 kills overall.

Set three was the most competitive of the four. Illinois built leads of 15-9 and 19-15 before Ohio State (12-2) came charging back to tie it up at 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23. Illinois won a long rally for point 24 capped off by a kill from Bartsch. The 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year also finished off the set with a kill off a big serve from Jackie Wolfe.

The Illini got some great play from their middles on Friday. Freshman Erin Johnson had a career high nine blocks to go along with six kills. Junior Johannah Bangert added six blocks and seven kills while hitting .417.

"We've really made an effort to get to our middles more," said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly. "I like that they (Johnson and Bangert) had nine blocks and six blocks. They did a really nice job of disrupting their offense as well as scoring for us."

Illinois hit more consistent in the fourth set (.310) with just two hitting errors, but the Illini's block really took center stage. Illinois had six blocks for the set while out-blocking the Buckeyes 17-7 for the night. The Illini used the emotional ending to set three to charge in front in the fourth. The Illini led 7-2, 11-5 and 17-9 and never let Ohio State get within six points the rest of the way.

Bartsch had some emphatic kills in the fourth set. While DeBruler set the tone early, Bartsch was the closer, posting 11 of her match-high 17 kills in the final two sets.

"We've been working with her since the fall ended last year to be that kind of player for us because we know she has that kind of potential," Hambly said of Bartsch. "It was nice to see her carry the load. That's happened the last two matches."

Starting 2-0 in the Big Ten would mean knocking off the current volleyball giant Saturday. "In order to do that we're going to have to serve aggressively and pass really well as well as cut down on our errors," Hambly said. "We know what we're up against facing them, but we'll be excited for the challenge."