Nov. 12, 2014
Champaign, Ill. - No. 12 Illinois captured its sixth victory over a ranked opponent on Wednesday, taking down No. 17 Ohio State in five sets (25-17, 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12). The win makes 2014 the 20th 20-win season in program history, as the Illini improve to 20-6 (12-3 Big Ten) on the year, while the Buckeyes fall to 18-9 (9-6 Big Ten).
"That was a good team," said head coach Kevin Hambly of the Buckeyes. "They're going to make a run here. They've got some weapons. That was a solid win for us tonight."
Illinois used a balanced attack on the night, as setter Alexis Viliunas spread the ball around well to all her hitters. Illinois pins Liz McMahon and Jocelynn Birks led the Illini with 15 and 14 kills, respectively, as McMahon hit an impressive .452 with just one error on the night and Birks lands two aces.
"Jocelyn and Liz did a really good job today, I think," said Viliunas. "I did my best to get them the set I thought they needed, and they put it down. I'm confident in them, and they put it down."
Middle blocker Katie Stadick landed eight kills and her second career service ace, and Michelle Strizak slammed six kills of fthe bench.
"I thought Strizak struggled to put some balls away, but she kept us in rallies and she played hard," said Hambly. "She had some big kills in big moments. She had three in the fifth set which was huge. The one was spectacular when Julia Conard made that great play (to make it 8-4), and she rolled down the line. Then she had an off-speed shot where we were stuck and they were going on a run and she ended that. She's tough and she's a competitive kid and we expected that. I don't worry about her in big moments; she's not going to make mistakes."
Viliunas posted her 25th career double-double in the match, recording 42 assists and 10 digs, while Brandi Donnelly led the Illini back line with 19 digs to go with seven assists and an ace. Julia Conard put up nine digs from the back row, and Danielle Davis tallied eight.
Illinois posted its sixth consecutive double-digit blocking match, as Anna Dorn led the match with six of the Illini's 10 stuffs, while Birks, Viliunas and Stadick each chipped in four.
Across the net, Ohio State was led by senior Erin Sekinger, who dominated on offense with a career-high 27 kills on the night.
"Sekinger is up and down, but when she's up it's tough," said Hambly. "She just wails away and you have to be really disciplined. We were in good spots at times and it just didn't matter, she still scored."
"Every time we stopped her at one thing, she ran a different thing, which made her really hard to stop," McMahon added.
Elizabeth Campbell was a dig shy of a double-double with 18 kills and nine digs, and Taylor Sandbothe hit .361 with 17 kills and four blocks. Setter Taylor Sherwin totaled 55 assists, and libero Valeria León posted a match-high 26 digs.
The first half of the first set was highly contested with nine ties and five lead changes, but after falling behind 14-13, Illinois used a four-point run including an ace by Birks, to take a 17-14 lead, and the Illini continued to drive it home, as a solo block by Dorn closed out the first in Illinois' favor, 25-17.
Similar to the first set, the beginning of the second set was neck-and-neck, as neither team scored off a serve on 20 straight plays until back-to-back kills by Tyler Richardson and an ace off the tape by Campbell helped the Buckeyes to a 15-12 lead. Illinois pulled back within two, 14-16, on Strizak's first swing of the match, but Ohio State rattled off nine of the next 11 points to take the second set, 25-16, and even the match at one set apiece. Despite being held to a .094 clip and a 47-percent sideout rate in the first set, the Buckeyes hit .474 and sided out at 81 percent in the second to take the set from Illinois.
Illinois opened up a 6-0 lead to start the third and that was all the cushion the Illini would need, as pin hitters Birks and McMahon combined for 12 kills and no errors, helping the Illini to hit .483 in the frame, to cruise to a 25-20 set victory.
Schirmer served Ohio State to a 7-3 lead early in the fourth set, and the Buckeyes maintained that advantage throughout the frame. A kill by McMahon pulled Illinois within two, 21-19, but two straight by Sekinger made it 23-19 Buckeyes. A Kacsits kill made it Buckeye set point, but a Birks-Stadick block and a McMahon kill erased Ohio State's first two attempts. However, after an OSU timeout, Sandbothe terminated to center court to take the fourth, 25-22, and force a fifth set.
Campbell struck a kill for the first point of the fifth, but a Birks kill and an ace by Donnelly put the Illini ahead, and the Orange and Blue never again fell behind. A huge diving save by Conard set up a Strizak kill to help the Illini to a 9-4 lead, but a service error shifted the momentum back OSU's way, as the Buckeyes battled all the way back with the help of two Sekinger kills to pull within one, 9-8. Another key kill by Strizak snapped the run, and a Dorn-Stark block pushed Illinois further in front, 12-9. Sekinger mustered two more kills, but a slam by McMahon set up Illini match point. Sandbothe struck a kill to erase the first match point, but McMahon replied with her 15th kill of the night to send the Buckeyes packing with a 15-12 win in the fifth.
"I think they knew we were going to set her--everyone knew we were going to set her--but she has the ability that it doesn't matter," said Hambly of McMahon's clutch performance down the stretch. "It's nice to have when she's in that mode. She's really, really tough to stop. I thought Lex set her great."
Illinois hits the road for three away matches in seven days, beginning with the Illini's first-ever trip to Rutgers. The Illini will square off with the Scarlet Knights at Noon CT on Sunday, Nov. 16, before trips to No. 4 Wisconsin and Indiana.
