Oct. 8, 2014
Columbus, Ohio - The No. 15 Fighting Illini fought back from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set at Ohio State, but after the Illini reached match point, 14-10, the Buckeyes battled to win six straight and take the match in five (25-14, 22-25, 25-14, 27-29, 16-14). With the win, the Buckeyes move into a tie with the Illini at 3-2 in Big Ten play, as Ohio State improves to 12-5 overall and Illinois drops to 11-5.
Illinois got off to a slow start, but with the help of six kills in the fourth set, Jocelynn Birks led the match with 17 kills, tallying a double-double with 13 digs to go with four blocks, an assist and an ace. Morganne Criswell followed with 15 kills, and Liz McMahon added 13.
Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week Brandi Donnelly was tops in the match with 21 digs, and Julia Conard, who came off the bench to play three sets for the Illini, registered seven digs. Katie Stadick led the Illini's net defense with five blocks, and Anna Dorn added three.
Setter Alexis Viliunas totaled 26 assists and five digs, while Allison Palmer posted 24 assists and two aces. Danielle Davis and Ali Stark each registered an ace in the match as well.
Erin Sekinger led a balanced attack for Ohio State with 15 kills, and Taylor Sandbothe (.524) and Elizabeth Campbell each had 14. Taylor Sherwin tallied 55 assists and led the team with 16 digs, and Campbell also had a double-double with 11 digs. Buckeye libero Valeria Leon tallied 12 digs and three aces, while Tyler Richardson led the match with six blocks.
Ohio State used a 7-1 run midway through the first set to take a 16-9 lead, and the Illini were unable to battle their way back, dropping the opening frame, 25-14.
Palmer served the Illini to a quick 6-2 lead in the second set, but an ace by Tsujimoto helped the Buckeyes tie the score at eight. Ohio State pulled in front for the first time on a Campbell kill and increased its lead to 14-10 on a Campbell-Richardson block, but Illinois battled back to tie the score at 17 with a kill and an ace by Birks. Two straight Criswell kills put Illinois back on top, 19-18, and a Birks kill finished off the frame, as the Illini evened the match with a 25-22 win in the second. Criswell had six kills on eight swings in the set, and Stadick tallied three big blocks.
The third set was much like the first, as the Buckeyes used a 6-0 run to jump up 11-4, then continued to forge ahead, winning the stanza, 25-14, off back-to-back aces by Leon.
Ohio State led early in the fourth, but the Illini came back to take a 17-11 lead on an ace by Palmer. The Buckeyes did not back down, fighting back to erase two set points and tie the score at 24. Birks put Illinois back on top, 25-24, but a Sekinger kill tied the score once again. Illinois continued to press, never allowing the lead to OSU, and a Birks kill finally finished it off for the Illini, 29-27, to force a tiebreaking fifth set.
Illinois used kills by Birks and McMahon to take a quick 3-0 lead and held on to that advantage to reach match point, 14-10. However, for the second time in four days, Ohio State came all the way back, erasing four Illini match points to tie the score at 14. Schirmer struck a kill to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the set, 15-14, and the next serve by Campbell landed on the top of the net and just barely snuck over to go down as an ace and give Ohio State a 16-14 win in the fifth and a 3-2 match victory.
"We didn't execute at all tonight," said a frustrated head coach Kevin Hambly. "We didn't deserve to win."
Illinois continues its Big Ten road stretch on Saturday, Oct. 11, with a visit to defending National Champion Penn State. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. CT.
