Sept. 6, 2014Box Score
Stanford, Calif. - After the first night of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, the Pac-12 pulled out a pair of upsets as UCLA topped No. 9 Illinois, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) immediately following the host No. 2 Stanford Cardinal taking down No. 1 Penn State in five sets. Illinois entered the weekend having not yet dropped a set on the season, but lost three straight to the Bruins, as both teams finished the night with a 3-1 overall record.
"We lacked emotion and fight, which is disappointing, because we've shown that," said head coach Kevin Hambly. "Not the whole time, but at the start of sets. Even though we were up in the first set, I thought our energy wasn't where it needed to be, and it was more that UCLA didn't come out and play smooth. When they started going, we needed to respond and it just took us too long. In the second set, I thought we started to respond, but it was too little too late, and it was the same in the third. You can't get down to team like that, especially with a kid like (Karsta) Lowe.
"It was frustrating for everybody and it's disappointing because this was an opportunity to play at a high level, play a good match on national television, and we didn't execute."
Senior Liz McMahon led the Illini offense with 13 kills on the night, followed by Jocelynn Birks with nine. Sophomore Katie Roustio entered the match late in the first set and proved the most consistent Illini hitter, attacking at a .417 clip with six kills.
"She did a good job hitting," Hambly said of Roustio. "We need a little more out of her volleyball-wise, but she can score points and we got what we expected from her."
Alexis Viliunas put up 18 assists while her setting partner Allison Palmer tallied 14, and the pair each landed a service ace. Brandi Donnelly registered a personal-best 18 digs, Danielle Davis followed with nine and Birks added eight. The net defense totaled eight blocks on the night, led by Katie Stadick with six and McMahon with four.
UCLA right side Karsta Lowe proved nearly unstoppable, slamming an unprecedented 29 kills in just three sets, hitting .426 with five errors on 54 total swings. No other Bruin reached double digits, as freshman Olga Strantzali was next with nine. Setter Julie Consani posted a double-double with 40 assists and 13 digs, libero Taylor Formico put up 12 digs, and Lowe also had a double-double with 10 digs. The Bruins landed a total of six service aces in the match, including two each by Strantzali and Lowe.
"I don't want to speak in hyperbole," said Hambly, "but (Lowe) has great range and that may be one of the best individual performances I've seen...this was pretty special."
Both teams sided out the first six points of the match, but when Birks stepped behind the service line, she fired off a run to give Illinois a quick 10-4 lead. However, a kill by Lowe handed the ball to Consani, who served up the next eight straight points, pushing the Bruins back in front, 12-10. The Bruins' momentum grew as the set wore on, opening up an 18-13 advantage, and after a small Illini comeback, UCLA finished out the frame, 25-17.
UCLA opened up a small lead early in the second set, 6-3, and that would prove all the advantage the Bruins would need. A service ace by Palmer pulled Illinois within one, 11-10, but the Bruins took control of the set to jump out in front 20-13. Illinois would not back down, clawing all the way back to within one, 23-22, on a pair of unreturnable serves by Birks, but a Bruins timeout righted the ship for UCLA, who won the final two points to head into the break ahead two sets to none with a 25-22 win in the second.
The Illini led early in the third set, but after a Dorn kill put Illinois ahead 7-5, the Bruins won 10 of the next 12 points to jump on top 15-9. Much like the second set, Illinois battled back late, pulling within one, 20-19, but a key service run by Nightingale made it Bruins match point, 24-20. The Illini continued to hang on, fighting off two match points with a McMahon kill and a Birks-Stadick block, but UCLA regrouped after a timeout to finish off the match with a kill from Claire Felix.
Illinois returns to Maples Pavilion on Sunday, Sept. 7, for the final match of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, taking on host No. 2 Stanford at 1 p.m. CT. The match will air live on the Pac-12 Network.
