Dec. 6, 2014
Champaign, Ill. - The #9-seed Fighting Illini punched their ticket to NCAA Regionals for the fifth time in six years with a dominating performance against Iowa State in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Junior outside hitter Jocelynn Birks was nearly unstoppable, crushing 23 kills in just three sets to lead the Illini past the Cyclones, 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-18). With the win, the Illini improve to 26-7 and advance to their 15th Sweet 16, while Iowa State finishes the season 19-10.
"Congratulations to Iowa State on a great season," said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly, who improved to 10-0 at Huff Hall in the postseason with Saturday's win. "The first set I thought was one of the highest levels of volleyball that we've played, both teams going at it, one of the highest sets we've played. They presented a ton of problems: their tempo was great, they have weapons, and I don't know if we ever figured them out. We were just able to put enough pressure on them that we were able to finish the sets.
"I thought they were a great team and really came after us and attacked us. I thought it was a fun match to be a part of in an incredible environment with the two bands and the crowd. It's what college volleyball is about and it was fun to be a part of."
Junior Jocelynn Birks was firing on all cylinders, as she became just the second Illini ever to record her third 500-kill season, finishing the night with 505 in 2014, She is just the eighth Illini to pass the 1,500 career mark, sitting at 1,515. Her match-best 23 kills came with just three errors for a .408 hitting percentage as well as seven digs.
"Obviously Birks was phenomenal," said Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. "I think that was one of the best performances I have seen at NCAA's in my time. She took such a huge load and it didn't seem to matter what we did. She had a huge night offensively, and I have to think one of the best performances I've seen, so congrats to Illinois."
Senior Liz McMahon was solid in her final appearance at Huff Hall, hitting .389 with nine kills, including the last swing of the night. Katie Stadick, Morganne Criswell and Alexis Viliunas followed with five kills apiece, and Anna Dorn slammed four kills on four swings.
Defensive specialist Danielle Davis led the Illini with 15 digs as well as a serve ace, while libero Brandi Donnelly put up 12 digs from the back row. Ali Stark tallied nine digs, and served up three aces as part of key Illinois runs that set up the Illini's second and third set victories. Alexis Viliunas was strong all around with 41 assists and eight digs to go with her five kills.
Iowa State did not have an attacker in double digits, as the Cyclones were led by Victoria Hurtt and Mackenzie Bigbee with eight kills apiece, followed by three players with five each. Suzanne Horner (19) and Monique Harris (14) split setting duties and each served up an ace, and libero Caitlin Nolan posted a match-best 19 digs.
"They had a good game plan," said Hambly. "They attacked us really well at the beginning and did some things a little different than what we saw on tape. It's limited information and it took us a little while to adjust, but we adjusted, and then they adjusted, and then we adjusted, and then they made some adjustments. It's what you expect when you play against great coaches; you're going to make all kinds of adjustments, and the team that can respond and make those adjustments faster ended up winning those sets."
Illinois took a small lead early in the first set, jumping ahead 6-3 on Criswell's first swing of the match. The Illini maintained their advantage until an ace by Horner tied the score at 12. Birks slammed two straight kills to put Illinois back ahead, 14-12, but the Cyclones fought back to take a 16-15 lead off kills by Bigbee and Capezio. Both teams traded the lead back and forth down the stretch, until kills by Criswell and Dorn made it Illini set point, 24-22. The Cyclones continued to battle, tying the score at 24, but Iowa State was unable to take back the lead, and Birks crushed one to the back corner to finish off the frame, 27-25, in Illinois' favor.
Illinois jumped out in front 4-1 early in the second, but a quick Cyclone timeout helped ISU right the ship and tie the score at four. A Stadick kill put Illinois back on top, but Iowa State gained momentum and took an 11-8 lead on a blocking error by Dorn. After an Illinois timeout, the Orange and Blue won five of the next seven to tie the score at 13, and a 7-0 run served out by Stark gave the Illini a daunting 21-14 lead. A kill by Birks made it Illinois set point, and an attack error closed the set as Illinois took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-18 win in the second set.
"I think overall we stayed calm and worked within our own arousal level that suited best for us," said McMahon of the Illini's play down the stretch. "We've been in that situation a lot of times this year and we won a lot of them, so just trusting that and not trying to do anything spectacular."
Iowa State took control early in the third set, as a kill by Conaway put the Cyclones ahead, 8-4. Birks returned from an Illini timeout with a kill, which kick-started a 6-1 run and gave Illinois a 10-9 lead. Much like the second set, Stark took over serving duties midway through the set and took the Orange and Blue on a 7-0 run capped by two straight kills from Birks to make it 21-13 Illinois, and McMahon's final career swing at Huff Hall sent the Illini to the Regionals with a 25-18 win in the third.
"We continue to try to get better throughout this and see how high of a level of volleyball we can play at moving forward," said Hambly. "I know we're not a finished product and it's nice to be able to continue. Most coaches feel that way; that there's more that you can teach and more you can do. And then, when you get into the playoffs, it doesn't change. I'm just looking forward to getting another week to see how far we can push this team and how clean we can play, and what level we can reach."
Illinois advances to the Ames Regional, where the Illini will take on the #8-seed Florida Gators, who topped Miami this evening, 3-1. The pair will square in the Regional Semifinals on Friday, Dec. 12, marking the first meeting between the two teams since the 2011 NCAA Regional Final, when the Illini defeated Florida, 3-1, in Gainesville on their way to the National Championship match.
"We're just going to continue to get better, focus on ourselves, take it one day at a time, and work some things out," said McMahon. "We're working to play our best volleyball right now and that's the most important thing."
