Sept. 18, 2010

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 5 Illinois volleyball team (8-2) returned to its winning ways on Saturday night, defeating Louisville 3-1 thanks to 20 kills from junior Colleen Ward and 15 each from junior Michelle Bartsch and freshman Jazmine Orozco. The Illini dropped the opening set 25-22 at Cardinal Arena, but rallied back to win the next three (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) behind improved passing and serving, which included six aces from freshman Jackie Wolfe.

"It feels good to win the match, but more importantly, we started playing our style of play," head coach Kevin Hambly said. "Our passing started out shaky, but it got better throughout the match. I like the rhythm we got into at the end and the way we started passing down the stretch."

Ward reached the 20-kill mark for the third-consecutive match and continued her effective hitting, posting an attack percentage of .381. She also tallied a third straight double-double, as she also finished with 14 digs. For the weekend, the transfer from Florida racked up 49 kills and hit .396 between the two matches against Big East foes.

"Colleen is a really nice player for us," Hambly said. "She's a great attacker and fits in well with our system. She is really flourishing in our style of play."

Four service errors early in the first set dug a hole for the Illini and forced the squad to play from behind for most of the frame. The Illini continued to battle and eventually tied it at 20, but the Cardinals gave Illinois too much to handle down the stretch, taking the set 25-22. Ward turned in nearly half of the Orange and Blue kills with seven, but the Illini hit only .243 and made six errors.

After dropping its fourth set in row, Illinois began to look more like itself in the second set, hitting .324 in the stanza behind a balanced attack. Ward again paced the attack with five kills while freshman Jazmine Orozco and sophomore Erin Johnson each chipped in four.

With the score knotted at 14 in the third set, the Illini took command after four aces in a row by Wolfe and never trailed again in the match. Illinois hit over .300 again and carried the momentum into the final set.

The Illini jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth set and never looked back, easily closing out the match with a .314 hitting percentage in the final frame.

On the night, Illinois hit .295 compared to .225 from the Cardinals, who fell to 5-4 on the year. Orozco turned it on late to increase her hitting percentage to .385, and Bartsch played well again on a recovering sprained ankle. The Illini middles, sophomore Erin Johnson (7) and senior Johannah Bangert (5), chipped in 12 kills to aid the cause. Senior setter Hillary Haen ran a solid offensive attack and finished with 46 assists.

The Orange and Blue split their pair of matches at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge and walked away from the weekend with an 8-2 overall record heading into Big Ten play.

Up Next: The Fighting Illini volleyball team will attempt to make "History at Huff" on Friday, Sept. 24 when No. 5 Illinois hosts No. 2 Penn State. Illinois intends to fill Huff Hall to capacity for the first time since 1992. In addition, the Fighting Illini will try to end the Nittany Lions' three-year unbeaten streak in Big Ten play that crosses 65-straight matches.