WICHITA, Kan. – Seventh-ranked Illinois closed out weekend play at the Shocker Classic in a demanding fashion as the Illini quieted a crowd of 2,000+ at the Charles Koch Arena in a three-set sweep over the host, Wichita State. Katie Stadick was dubbed the tournament MVP while Jocelynn Birks and Brandi Donnelly were named to the All-Tournament Team as well. The Fighting Illini improved to 7-1 with their fourth-straight victory and the Shockers moved to 7-4.
"I thought this was a great defensive effort," opened head coach Kevin Hambly. "We shut down everything, we just took everything away from Wichita State. It was great to see."
The first away match of the season was never in doubt for the Illinois unit that trailed just twice in the match, both times when the Shockers took the opening point in a set. With the three-match tournament sweep, Illinois has now won the last 12 sets of action. Additionally, the Orange and Blue have yet to lose in the opening frame, going 8-0 so far.
After Wichita State claimed the first point of the match, Illinois rattled off four quick points to take the lead, and ultimately, the set. The Illini opened up a 19-10 lead before finishing the set with a 25-19 advantage. Donnelly registered six digs in the opening frame while offensively, Illinois posted 15 kills as a unit.
To open the second set, the Orange and jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead, and led the frame from start to finish. With the scoreboard reading 11-4 in favor of Illinois, the hosts called a timeout, but the Illini kept rolling, taking the next two points as well. Ali Stark posted a pair of service aces in the set, giving her a team-best nine on the season. UI tallied 15 kills in the set, which they won 25-13.
"I like the way that we're serving; we were able to get them out of their system a little bit," shared Hambly. "That's where the defense starts, with the serve."
Illinois' momentum would not falter in the third set. After WSU grabbed the first point in the final set, the Fighting Illini would take the next three points. After Illinois jumped to an 11-4 lead, Wichita State called a timeout, which sparked a run to pull the Shockers within six. It was too little, too late for Wichita State though, as Illinois put the finale away with another 25-13 margin.
Birks recorded her second double-double of the season and the fourth on the campaign for Illinois in the contest. The redshirt senior tallied 14 kills and 10 digs in the effort, in addition to a .417 hitting percentage. Stadick posted a .533 mark off of nine digs and 15 attempts. Michelle Strizak matched the team-high 14 kills off of 35 attacks.
The Illini hit over .400 in the final two sets to finish with a team reading of .308, while holding the hosts to a .038 mark. After recording nine errors in the opening set, Illinois responded with just a pair in each of the remaining frames.
Jordyn Poulter tallied 35 assists in the contest to accompany her nine digs. Donnelly led the Illinois dig effort with 13 while Danielle Davis contributed eight. All together, the Illini unit produced 48 digs.
Next weekend, the road trip will continue as Illinois heads to Tempe, Arizona, for the Red Lyon Invitational. The Fighting Illini will face Texas Southern on Friday before playing a Saturday doubleheader against UNLV and then the host, No. 10 Arizona State.
