CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini volleyball team earned a Big Ten weekend sweep as the Illini defeated Michigan, 3-0, (25-22, 25-22, 25-20) on Halloween Night at Huff Hall.
With the back-to-back wins, the Illini improve to 15-8 on the season and 6-6 in the Big Ten, while the Wolverines fall to 16-7 and 6-6 in the conference.
"I thought we played well, I thought we defended well," said head coach Kevin Hambly. "I thought offensively we were good, especially after the first set. We sided out at a high rate. I think we sided out at over 70 percent in the last two sets. So, we feel good about things."
"I think we were physical. I think we are physical enough to play with anyone, and we used the physicality tonight. I thought we did a good job of using our physicality tonight."
Michelle Strizak paced the Orange and Blue offense with a match-high 15 kills on 30 swings for a .433 hitting percentage, while Jocelynn Birks registered 14 kills and is just 19 kills away from tying Laura DeBruler's all-time kills record of 1,833.
It was a back-and-forth beginning to the opening set with the Illini jumping out to a 14-10 lead on three-straight points from to UM errors and a Birks kill. UI continued to control the pace of the set as a Strizak kill gave Illinois the 20-15 edge, but the Wolverines would close within 22-21 late in the period. Again taking advantage of Michigan errors, Strizak set up set point with an UM attack error giving Illinois a 25-22 win.
The momentum continued for the home team in the second set as UI raced out a 9-3 lead. Using a balanced attack, the Illini held onto an at least three-point lead throughout the set and looked poised to take the second with a 20-16 advantage. The Wolverines would make things interesting by again closing to within one point at 22-21, but back-to-back Strizak kills sealed the 25-22 victory.
Out of the break, Michigan pressed early en route to building a 7-4 lead, but the Illini fought back to even the score at 10-10. Behind a spirited Sprizak performance, the Illini grabbed an 18-15 lead and never looked back as they forced four late Michigan errors for a 25-20 set win and the 3-0 sweep.
The Orange and Blue unit posted a .268 hitting percentage on the night, including a .343 percentage in the second set.
Alexis Viliunas totaled 35 assists, while Brandi Donnelly led UI with 12 digs. Birks, Viliunas and Julia Conard also added eight digs in the win.
Ali Bastianelli continued to lead the Illini at the net, notching a team-high five block assists, with Naya Crittenden contributing four in the match.
Illinois next heads north to Evanston, Ill., to face off against Northwestern on Wednesday (Nov. 4) at 7 p.m. CT in Welsh-Ryan Arena, before the Wildcats make the return trip on Saturday (Nov. 7) at 7 p.m. in Huff Hall.
