No. 9 Illinois (18-5, 10-2 Big Ten) Travels to Northwestern (14-9, 4-8 Big Ten)
Match 24: Northwestern	Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014 | 7 p.m. ET | Welsh-Ryan Arena Video: BTN Plus | Radio: WDWS 1400 AM | Audio | GameTracker 
Full Game Notes	Illinois | Northwestern
Statistics	Illinois | Northwestern
Series History	Illinois leads, 51-28 | Last: Illinois won, 3-0, on Nov. 27, 2013 | Streak: Won 1 | Results
Social Media	@IlliniVball  | #Illini  | Facebook | @IlliniVBall  | YouTube

AGAINST THE WILDCATS

Illinois leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 51-28, and is 21-12 all time in Evanston. The Illini have won nine of the last 11 matchups with the Wildcats, but split the season series in 2013. Illinois led 2-0 at the break before suffering a heartbreaking loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Oct 23, 2013, but the Illini exacted revenge at Huff Hall the night before Thanksgiving, sweeping the Wildcats for their final regular-season victory of the year.

ILLINI STORM BACK ON WOLVERINES----AGAIN

For the third straight time, Illinois found itself trailing the Wolverines on Nov. 1, 2014, but once again the Illini pulled out the miraculous comeback to top U-M in five sets. On Oct. 5, 2013, Illinois took the first set at Cliff-Keen Arena, 25-18, but lost ground over the next two frames, falling 25-15 and 25-10 to trail 2-1 in the match. Despite the wildly uneven play of the third set, Illinois rebooted in the fourth to win 25-20, then took the fifth set 15-13 to battle to the 5-set victory on BTN.

The Wolverines pounced early on Nov. 6, 2013, at Huff Hall, taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room with 25-18 and 25-19 wins in the first two frames. Then-senior libero Jennifer Beltran gave the motivational speech of her life during the break, one which led the Illini to return from the locker room late and surrender the first point of the third set to the Wolverines, but it was well worth it, as the Orange and Blue emerged from the basement a new team, who battled all the way back to steal the match from Michigan, 25-21, 25-15 and 15-10 to jump-start a six-match winning streak that earned Illinois the right to not only play in but host the NCAA Tournament.

With a shot at the Big Ten title still on the line, Illinois headed to Cliff-Keen Arena on Nov. 1, 2014, riding a six-match winning streak. Illinois battled back from down 22-18 late in the first to tie the score at 22 and again at 24, but Michigan took the first set, 26-24. The Illini raced to an 18-11 lead in the second set, but the Wolverines countered with a 14-3 run including scoring the final nine points of the frame to take the second set, 25-21, and once again lead 2-0 at the break. However, much like their matchup nearly 360 days earlier, Illinois surged back a new team in the second half, taking the final three sets with the help of 15 kills by Morganne Criswell after the break to once again stun the Wolverines in five sets.

BIRKS THE WOLVERINE SLAYER

In five career matches against Michigan, junior Jocelynn Birks has put up unprecedented numbers, averaging 5.18 kills and 2.50 digs while hitting .284. The outside hitter recorded at least 20 kills in all five appearances, while posting three double-doubles and five aces. This season's contest was no exception, as Birks exploded for a season-high 26 kills, hitting .311 with 13 digs, two blocks and a service ace, recording at least five kills in all five sets of the Illini's comeback victory.

McMAHON SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST

Illini opposite hitter Liz McMahon was named one of 10 national candidates for the annual Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes for outstanding achievements on and off the court spanning four key categories: Classroom, Community, Character and Competition. McMahon is the second Illini to be named a finalist, after Laura DeBruler was up for the first volleyball award in 2010. McMahon was one of two Big Ten student-athletes on the candidate list, joining fellow-finalist Michigan State libero Kori Moster. Public voting is open now through Dec. 8, as fans, media and head coaches alike will combine to determine this year's winner, who will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Championship.

ON THE SMALL SCREEN

As a program, Illinois has played on live television 159 times over its history. The Illini are 92-67 all time on the small screen, including 38-41 on national TV.

The Illini are 16-17 all time on the Big Ten Network, including 4-0 this year, and are 8-10 on ESPN affiliates. Illinois played on the Pac-12 Network for the first time ever on Sept. 5-7, but dropped matches to both UCLA and Stanford. Illinois is 4-2 on live television in 2014. Additionally, the Illini defeated No. 13 Nebraska on ESPN3 (online), which aired with a tape delay on ESPN2.

BOILERS BLOCKED

On Oct. 25, Illinois stuffed 20.0 blocks in just four sets to defeat a top-15 team for the third straight Saturday, beating No. 13 Purdue after taking down No. 5 Penn State on Oct. 11 and No. 13 Nebraska on Oct. 18. It marked the second time this season (Iowa) that Illinois stuffed 20 team blocks, tying both the Illini's rally-scoring and overall four-set match records.

Sophomore Katie Stadick put up 12 of those 20 blocks, marking her second double-digit block match this season; she is the only player to tally more than 10 blocks in a Big Ten match this season, and she has done so twice. Following her dominant blocking performance, the sophomore was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week. Three of Stadick's teammates also had at least five blocks in the match, led by Jocelynn Birks, with a career-high eight, followed by Liz McMahon with seven and Anna Dorn with five.

The win was the Illini's fifth over a ranked opponent this season and marked the fourth time ever that the Illini have defeated three top-15 teams in 15 days or less.

The last time Illinois beat three top-15 opponents in less than a month was from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8, 2011, when Illinois defeated No. 9 Minnesota, No. 12 Purdue and No. 8 Penn State, while also knocking off No. 25 Ohio State during the 15-day span. Prior to 2011, the Orange and Blue had not beaten three top-15 teams in less than a month since the late '80s, when Illinois did so at the end of the 1987 and 1989 seasons. In 1987, the Illini closed the regular season by sweeping No. 9 Texas on Nov. 28, then topped No. 15 Western Michigan (12/10) and No. 8 Nebraska (12/11) in the NCAA Regionals en route to the Final Four. In 1989, the Illini once again finished the season with a sweep of No. 6 Texas at the Wendy's Classic (11/25), then bested No. 11 Penn State (12/1) and No. 15 Ohio State (12/9) in the NCAA Tournament.

ILLINI RACK UP BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS

Five Illini have taken home a total of eight Big Ten weekly honors this season. Liz McMahon was tabbed as the conference's first Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 1 after her play at the Illini Classic. Brandi Donnelly took home Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 22, Oct. 6 and most recently Nov. 3, while Jocelynn Birks earned Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 29. Alexis Viliunas and Katie Stadick earned Setter and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, after the Illini's big win at No. 13 Nebraska on Oct. 20, and Stadick repeated the following week after stuffing 12 blocks against No. 13 Purdue to collect the award on Oct. 27.

ROAD WARRIORS

Illinois has captured 10 victories away from home this season, including taking down No. 5 Penn State and No. 13 Nebraska on their home courts on consecutive Saturdays. When the Illini topped the Huskers on Oct. 18, they became just the third team in NCAA history to defeat both powerhouse programs on their home courts in the same season. Illinois is one of just eight teams to have a win in both Lincoln and University Park throughout their program history and one of only two programs (OSU) to have wins in multiple seasons in both places.

Purdue was the first team ever to defeat Penn State and Nebraska on their respective courts in the same season, defeating No. 15 Nebraska, 3-0, on Nov. 6, 1982, then topping unranked PSU twice (2-0 & 3-1) the following week on Nov. 13, 1982. Nine years later, Ohio State repeated the feat, handing No. 12 Penn State its first-ever Big Ten loss, 3-2, on Nov. 28, 1991, then defeating No. 7 Nebraska in the 1991 NCAA Regional Final on Dec. 14, en route to the Final Four. The only other schools to have ever recorded a win in both places are Minnesota, New Mexico, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA.

ILLINI STUFF HAWKEYES

Despite struggling with accuracy on offense, Illinois dominated the Hawkeyes' attackers at the net on Oct. 15, stuffing 20.0 blocks at Iowa. The Illini's 20.0 total blocks was the most in 12 years, and ties the Orange and Blue's rally scoring record, set against Indiana on Oct. 17, 2001, and matched again vs. the Hoosiers on Nov. 30, 2002. The 20 blocks ties for 10th overall in Illinois history, while the team's 38 block assists in the match ties the all-time program record, set vs. Ohio State on Oct. 20, 1990, and repeated against Georgia on Sept. 14, 1991.

Middle blockers Katie Stadick and Anna Dorn were in on all 20 Illini blocks, as Stadick had 10 assists and the team's lone solo block, and Dorn teamed up on the other nine. Stadick's performance moved her into 33rd in the nation in blocks per set (1.37), and she took over the top spot in conference play, where she averaged 1.58. The 10 assists tie for 13th all time at Illinois, a performance Morganne Criswell matched against Stanford earlier this season and which Dorn has performed twice in her career. Dorn's blocking against Iowa helped her move into second place all time at Illinois in career block assists, passing Kristin Henriksen (1990-93) and sitting behind only Director of Operations Johannah Bangert, who stuffed a Big Ten record 613 from 2007-10.

LIONS FALL AT REC HALL

On Oct. 11, the Fighting Illini made history, knocking off defending national champion No. 5 Penn State on its home court in front of nearly 3,600 fans at Rec Hall. It was just the third time in program history that Illinois has returned from Happy Valley victorious, and the first time ever in less than five sets. The Illini are one of just two Big Ten teams to have defeated Penn State at home since 2004, and became the first to top the Nittany Lions at Rec Hall in less than five sets since Minnesota swept PSU on Oct. 18, 2003.

After falling to Ohio State, 3-2, at home on Oct. 20, 2004, Penn State did not lose another home Big Ten match for more than seven seasons, when the No. 1 Illini ended the four-time defending national champions' 68-match home conference winning streak with a five-set victory on Oct. 8, 2011, in front of over 5,200 fans. Penn State had lost just one home match since then, a five-setter to Michigan State in 2013, when Illinois came in and did it again, topping the Nittany Lions, 3-1, to snap a 19-match home winning streak on Oct. 11, 2014.

Following that OSU match in 2004, Penn State would win 97 of their next 100 home conference matches--Illinois represents two of those three losses. During that same stretch, the Nittany Lions were 170-5 overall at home; the Illini are the only team to defeat PSU twice at Rec Hall during that span (Other three losses: Tennessee, Oregon, Michigan State).

Throughout their history, the Orange and Blue have had immense success against the powerhouse of Penn State, as this season's victory marked their 10th over the Nittany Lions in program history. There are only three teams in the nation that have more wins against Penn State, two of which are Big Ten members. Pittsburgh has the most wins all time with 17, however the Panthers have not defeated the Nittany Lions since 1982. Ohio State and Nebraska each have 14 wins, with the Huskers last defeating the Nittany Lions on Oct. 4, 2014.

B1G PLAY, BIG NUMBERS

Since the start of Big Ten play, Illinois has been putting up big numbers across the board. As a team, the Illini lead the Big Ten in assists, rank second in blocks and digs, third in kills, fourth in opponent hitting percentage and fifth in fewest aces allowed during conference play. Individually, Jocelynn Birks leads the conference in kills, points per set and double-doubles during conference play, while Katie Stadick leads in the conference in blocks per set. Brandi Donnelly ranks third in digs, while Liz McMahon and Morganne Criswell are in the top 12 in kills and points. Additionally, Alexis Viliunas ranks eighth in assists, and Anna Dorn is 10th in blocks.

The Illini put up exceptional numbers against No. 18 Minnesota, as Birks and McMahon combined for 36 kills, while Donnelly posted 25 digs in just three sets. Her dig total was the most for an Illini in a three-set match since 1988, and ranks fourth all time overall. Every kill in the match was assisted, and the 54 assists put up in the match tie for fifth in a three-setter in the rally scoring era and are the most since 2005. Birks topped her performance against the Gophers in the next match by hitting .340 with 22 kills, 13 digs, four blocks and an ace in four sets against No. 6 Wisconsin.

When the Illini played Rutgers on Sept. 27, every player with at least one swing hit over .350, while not one Rutgers player broke .300. Alexis Viliunas and Allison Palmer helped guide Illinois to its most efficient match in 11 years, as the Illini's .473 hitting percentage has been topped just once in the rally scoring era, when Illinois hit .475 against Manhattan on Sept. 12, 2003. The Illini serve defense was also lights out on opening weekend, as the Orange and Blue allowed just one service ace to its opponents over the first two matches of Big Ten play (Maryland & Rutgers).

Illinois continued its head-turning play at No. 5 Penn State on Oct. 11, taking down the powerhouse Nittany Lions in four sets. Penn State entered the match leading the conference with a .129 opponent hitting percentage when the Illini hit .315 against the Nittany Lions, making just three unforced attack errors. Illinois hit nearly .100 better than PSU's next best opponent, Stanford, who hit .237 to defeat then-No. 1 Penn State in five sets and take over the top spot in the AVCA poll. Donnelly had a dominant serve on the afternoon, landing three aces against PSU, despite the Nittany Lions averaging just 0.29 aces allowed per set prior to the match.

Illinois' blockers dominated against Iowa, posting a total of 20.0 blocks--a rally scoring record---while matching the program record with 38 block assists. Stadick put up 11 blocks in the match, one solo, while Dorn tallied nine and Morganne Criswell chipped in seven.

The blocking unit came through big time again vs. No. 13 Purdue, putting up 20.0 blocks in just four sets, led by Stadick with 12 total blocks. Birks had a career-high eight stuffs in the match, while McMahon chipped in seven and Dorn was in on five.

ILLINI NO STRANGER TO TOUGH COMPETITION

Fresh off playing one of the most challenging slates in the history of NCAA volleyball in 2013, the Fighting Illini have their work cut out for them once again in 2014, with 10 opponents that are ranked in this week's AVCA poll, including four of the top eight (No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 6 Penn State, No. 8 North Carolina). Additionally, the Illini defeated Creighton, which is currently receiving votes.

According to the SOS rankings, Illinois has played the 16th-most-difficult schedule in the nation. Big Ten foes Nebraska (2) and Wisconsin (10) are both ranked in the top 10 in strength of schedule, while the Huskers played the hardest nonconference slate this season.

The Illini captured 3-0 victories over then-No. 20 North Carolina and then-No. 18 Minnesota, 3-1 road victories at then-No. 5 Penn State and No. 13 Nebraska, and topped No. 13 Purdue in four sets at home. Additionally, the Orange and Blue beat Colorado (3-1) and Long Beach State (3-0), who were receiving votes at the time and are currently ranked No. 21 and No. 23, respectively.

Of the Illini's five losses, four were against teams that are ranked in this week's poll: No. 1 Stanford (3-2), No. 4 Wisconsin (3-1), No. 15 UCLA (3-0) and No. 18 Ohio State (3-2). UCLA and Ohio State were receiving votes at the time of the match but entered the polls the following week.

The Big Ten is stacked once again this season, as six conference members (including Illinois) are ranked in the top 20. Illinois must play No. 4 Wisconsin (L, 1-3), No. 13 Nebraska (W, 3-1) and No. 18 Ohio State (L, 2-3) twice, have traveled to No. 6 Penn State (W, 3-1) and hosted No. 13 Purdue (W, 3-1). Illinois is 4-1 against Big Ten teams that were ranked at the time of the match, including big wins over No. 18 Minnesota (3-0), at No. 5 Penn State (3-1), at No. 13 Nebraska (3-1) and vs. No. 13 Purdue (3-1).

According to the NCAA RPI, Illinois will play 11 matches against teams in the top 25, including five against top-8 opponents (#1 Stanford, #5 Wisconsin, #6 North Carolina, #8 Penn State). The #9 Illini had an additional five matches on the schedule against teams ranked 26-50, and went 5-0 against them.

Illinois has nine wins over top-50 opponents, including a 3-0 sweep of #6 North Carolina and 3-1 wins at #8 Penn State and #16 Nebraska, while four of the Illini's five losses came to teams in the top 25. The Illini are 14-1 against teams ranked outside the top 25, with the Illini's worst loss coming in five sets to #61 Virginia Tech.

Of the Illini's 24 opponents, 11 qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. All but two of them advanced to the second round, with seven opponents qualifying for Regionals. The Illini will face five of the eight teams that advanced to the Regional Semifinals, including NCAA champion Penn State and NCAA runner-up Wisconsin.

Illinois' non-league opponents hailed from seven different conferences, including four from the powerhouse league of the Pac-12 (2-2). The Illini faced two teams from the ACC (1-1), and defeated squads from the Big East, Big West, Conference USA, MVC and Summit League.

ATTENDANCE RECORD SHATTERED ON ILLINOISE NIGHT

On Oct. 4, 2014, the Orange and Blue hosted the first-ever IlliNOISE Night promotion, during which the Illini Faithful sold out Huff Hall with a record crowd of 4,536 fans. In the first official sellout since 2011, Illinois fans broke the 22-year old record of 4,316 set at the 1992 NCAA Regional vs. Stanford, after the 2014 summer renovations increased listed capacity by nearly 500 seats.

After breaking the record for average crowd size with 3,117 fans per match in 2013, the Illini are once again on track to set a new record, averaging a total of 3,182 fans over nine home matches, including five nights with over 3,000 fans.

After breaking the record for average crowd size with 3,117 fans per match in 2013, the Illini are once again on track to set a new record, averaging a total of 3,182 fans over the first nine home matches, including five nights with over 3,000 fans.

Illinois is 8-1 at home so far in 2014, winning the first 18 sets at Huff Hall before falling to No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 4. The Illini are 80-20 in front of a home crowd since the start of 2008. All-but-two of those losses came to teams in the top 25, including three to the No. 1 team in the country.

Midway through the season, Illinois ranks fifth in the nation in average crowd size and ninth in total attendance. Seven of the top 11 teams in average attendance are members of the Big Ten, with Nebraska leading the nation at 8,298.

Illinois has had 42 home matches in program history with a crowd of 3,000 fans or more, including five of the nine home matches so far this season. 3,257 fans packed Huff Hall for the second day of the Illini Classic, including Illinois' sweeps of Southern Illinois and No. 20 North Carolina. The Illini's 2013 home opener was just shy of the 3,000 mark with 2,942. Illinois topped that on Oct. 1, when 3,325 packed Huff Hall to watch the Illini sweep No. 18 Minnesota on BTN, then recorded the largest crowd in Huff history on Oct. 4 at 4,536. The Illini registered another top-15 crowd on Oct. 25, when 3,873 attended the Illini's win over No. 13 Purdue.

Illinois has had five home matches with at least 3,000 fans every year since 2012, the most since 1992 when 11 of the Illini's 17 home matches featured crowds of 3,000 or more. Illinois' 2011 NCAA finals run included four 3,000+ crowds, including two over 4,000, and three crowds of at least 3,000 were recorded in 1993.

DOUBLING UP

The Fighting Illini have 75 career double-doubles distributed among five active players, including 21 this season. Jocelynn Birks leads the Big Ten with 13 on the season, including a conference-best nine through the first 12 matches of league play, totaling 37 for her career all with 10+ kills and digs.

Junior setter Alexis Viliunas follows with 23 for her career, posting seven assists-digs double-doubles in 2014. The La Grange, Illinois, native recorded her second career 20-20 match at Michigan on Nov. 1, 2014, registering 53 assists and 20 digs in the five-set victory. It marked just the 14th time in Illinois history that an Illini recorded an assists-digs double-double. She is the seventh setter ever to do so, and just the third to have more than one to her name. Barb Winsett has the most career assists-digs 20-20s, registering four from 1987-89, while Carolien Dikhoff posted two in 1995.

Morganne Criswell stepped up at the net at Stanford, registering 16 kills and 10 blocks to record the first kills-blocks double-double in three years. Entering the weekend, Criswell's career high had been just four blocks in a match, but her hard work in the gym paid off as she tied for 12th all-time at Illinois with 10 block assists in the match. Criswell also registered a double-double in her first start of 2013, posting 14 kills and 11 digs at Duke to own two double-doubles for her career.

Additionally, Ali Stark and Allison Palmer both have double-doubles in their careers, as Stark had three kills-digs double-doubles in 2012, and Palmer had 10 assists-digs double-doubles as a setter at Arizona State in 2012.