Champaign, Ill. – No. 8 Illinois opened the 2015 season with a bang on Friday, sweeping Louisville in front of a crowd of 3,344 at the 10th annual "Stuff Huff" event as part of the Illini Classic. While the final score was 3-0, Louisville put up a strong fight, going down to the wire in every set with scores of 27-25, 25-23, and 26-24. Earlier in the day, Creighton edged Miami (Ohio) in five sets.
"They are very physical team and did a great job on the defensive end," said head coach Kevin Hambly. "We made a lot of errors and frantic play. We had a few set ups where we just couldn't get it done. But it's the first match of the year and it was some nervousness and anxiety out there. To find a way to win is a big part of the game and that's what we did."
Freshmen Jordyn Poulter and Ali Bastianelli showed a strong presence in their first career starts for the Fighting Illini, while transfer Naya Crittenden saw her first action for the Orange and Blue in two sets off the bench.
"They're both real physical and they did some amazing stuff," Hambly said of the freshman duo. "At points Jordyn did try to do too much, but once again she's a freshman, she's trying to find her groove. I think Ali at times had a great grasp ,but at other times she was frantic and kind of running around with her head cut off. But again she's a freshman, that's what you expect."
Poulter guided the Illini offense with 35 assists, while tying with Bastianelli for a match high of five block assists to go with six digs and a service ace.
Michelle Strizak, making just her second career start, showed tremendous fire power from the outside, hitting a team-high .429 with 13 kills and just one error while stuffing down a pair of blocks.
"She was amazing," said Poulter of the junior outside hitter. "We spotted the weak block, and she was just swinging over that and it worked."
"I think we did a great job of passing and that made them stay in their bunch read, and Jordyn was feeding the ball to whoever was free and it worked out for me," said Strizak. "We trained really hard this spring, and one of things we worked on a lot was consistency and using what I have to my advantage."
Jocelynn Birks struggled to get going offensively, but slammed six kills in the final set to finish with 11 on the night to go with eight digs, while Katie Stadick hit .368 with nine kills and four blocks.
Libero Brandi Donnelly was all over the back court, putting up 23 digs to start the year with her 11th career 20-dig performance. Her back-row presence was one of the best in Illini history, ranking fifth all time in three-set matches and tied for second in the rally scoring era—with Donnelly herself having set the rally-scoring record at 25 in the three-set victory over Minnesota on Oct. 1, 2014.
Erin Fairs was tops on Louisville with 13 kills, but hit just .039 with 11 errors. Janelle Jenkins hit a match-high .500 with seven error-less kills, and Katie George had a double-double with 30 assists and a team-best 15 digs.
Louisville held the momentum early, racing out to a 9-4 lead in the first set. However, the Illini brushed off their season-opening jitters to claw their way back, and the freshman duo of Poulter and Bastianelli connected quick in the middle for a kill to tie the score at 17. Louisville went back ahead on the next play, but a monster block by Strizak gave Illinois its first lead of the set, 22-21. Both teams traded points down the stretch, but Illinois never allowed the Cardinals to retake the lead, and a block by Poulter and Stadick closed the opening frame, 27-25, in favor of Illinois.
Illinois carried its momentum into the second set, taking a daunting 12-5 lead, yet this time it was Louisville who would not back down. A kill by Janelle Jenkins helped pull the Cardinals within four, 15-11, but the Illini pushed right back ahead 21-14. Louisville once again clawed back, using a 6-0 run served out by Katie George to come within one, 21-20, but Stadick slammed a kill in the middle to avoid the tie. A rip by Birks set up Illini set point, and a Poulter-Stadick block once again closed it out as the Illini escaped with a 25-23 win in set two.
The Illini raced out to a 4-0 lead after the break, but once again Louisville charged back to tie the score at 14 all, and the third set became yet another gritty battle down the stretch. A kill by Birks put the Illini ahead 23-20, but the Cardinals replied with three straight to knot the score at 23 and once again make it a matter of "first to two." A Stadick kill gave Illinois its first shot at match point, but Maggie DeJong re-tied it at 24. However, a Fairs error returned match point to the Illini and Strizak hammered one home for her match-leading 13th kill to seal up Illinois' first win of the season in straight sets.
The Illini return to the court for two matches on Saturday, August 29, opening day two of the Illini Classic at 10 a.m. against Miami (Ohio) then concluding the weekend at 7:30 p.m. against Creighton.
