TEMPE, Ariz. – Illinois Volleyball moved to 9-1 on the season with a 3-1 victory over the UNLV Rebels on day two of the Sun Devil Invitational from Tempe, Arizona. Guided by double-double efforts from Jocelynn Birks and Jordyn Poulter, the Fighting Illini won their sixth-straight match. UNLV is now 6-5, dropping its second-straight contest.
In the opening set, neither side held a lead greater than two points until a Michelle Strizak kill put the Illinois unit ahead 17-14 as part of a four-point run for the Orange and Blue. UNLV called a timeout down 18-14 and took the next point to pull within three, but Illinois grabbed the next four points to push ahead to a 22-15 lead. The Rebels couldn't hang on as the Fighting Illini won their 10th-straight opening set by a score of 25-18 to remain perfect in the frame.
Set two opened in favor of Illinois, as the Orange and Blue jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to an ace by Brandi Donnelly and two kills apiece for Birks and Katie Stadick. The Rebels pulled within three points at 5-2, but Illinois stepped on the gas to cruise to a 25-12 victory. UI led by as many as 14 points in the set and by the end of the frame Stadick had already tallied 11 kills in the match.
After opening the third frame with back and forth scoring, Illinois held a three-point advantage as late into the set as 13-10. After a Rebel service error knotted the set at 16, the Illinois side wouldn't lead in the frame again. UNLV went on to win just the fourth set by an opponent over the Orange and Blue squad all year by a 25-21 margin. To end the set, both sides combined for 11-straight kills, with Illinois owning four of the tallies.
Going past three sets for just the second time this season, Illinois never trailed in the final set. UNLV forced four ties in the frame, with the latest one occurring at 7-7. The Orange and Blue responded by scoring nine-straight points off the serve of Danielle Davis to put the contest out of the reach of the Rebels. UI was up 21-9 at one point and finished the set owning a 25-16 advantage with Birks finding the floor for the match-winner.
Led by 16 digs from Donnelly, the Orange and Blue racked up 61 digs in the contest. Davis registered 11 while Birks and Poulter each recorded 10 of their own. All but two Illini that saw playing time tallied at least one dig in the contest.
Resuming her setting duties, Poulter assisted 46 Illinois points for the other half of her double-double. Birks and Poulter both recorded their third double-double of the season, marking the first match of the campaign in which two Illinois players achieved the feat.
Alexis Viliunas was brought as a serving specialist in the final set and opened with an ace. The senior also recorded one dig.
"Lex has always been a great server so we decided to give her a go in the fourth set and it worked out," shared head coach Kevin Hambly. "It's nice to know that we have that in our arsenal."
On the net, Ali Bastianelli worked to three solo blocks in the contest to accompany a pair of tandem blocks. Naya Crittenden added a pair of solo blocks while Stadick contributed one of her own.
Stadick led Illinois in kills with 16 on 24 swings for a .542 effort. Birks was right behind her with 15 kills off of 42 attempts for a hitting percentage of .238. Strizak contributed eight kills and a .115 hitting mark in addition to Ali Stark's four kills on seven attempts and eight dig effort.
The Fighting Illini will have a quick turnaround as they play the second match of today's doubleheader, and finale of the Sun Devil Invitational, tonight, Saturday, Sept. 19, at 9 pm CT, against No. 10 Arizona State.
"I have a feeling we'll see some of our best play tonight and get back on track," stated Hambly.
