NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Ninth-ranked Illinois volleyball concluded the opening weekend of Big Ten play with a pair of victories over the newest members of the conference, as the Fighting Illini made quick work of Rutgers in a three-set sweep from the College Ave. Gymnasium. The Orange and Blue improved to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in league play with the victory while the Scarlet Knights dropped to 3-11 on the season and 0-2 in Big Ten action. Illinois won by a line of 25-20, 25-8, 25-16.
"After agreeing that we could play much better than what we showed in the first set, I thought the group really responded well in set two," stated head coach Kevin Hambly. "I thought we played really clean, really hard, and competed the way that we wanted to compete."
After Rutgers put the opening point on the scoreboard, the Fighting Illini went on a four-point run before the Scarlet Knights were able to end the rally. RU pulled within two points at 6-4 but a Katie Roustio kill followed by a Jordyn Poulter ace gave the Fighting Illini a four-point lead that they wouldn't relinquish. UI pushed ahead to a 14-8 advantage to force a Rutgers timeout. Illinois was able to put the set away, despite a brief Rutgers run, by the 25-20 decision to move to a perfect 13-0 in the opening frame,
Illinois took the first point of the second set and never looked back, pushing out to a 6-0 advantage before Rutgers was able to get on the board. The Orange and Blue took a 10-2 lead, forcing a Scarlet Knights timeout and proceeded to push ahead to a 13-3 lead. UI forced another Rutgers' stoppage after taking a 17-4 lead in the frame. Rutgers became the third opponent that Illinois has held to single digits in a set as UI won the stanza 25-8.
Despite taking the first point of the set, the Illini trailed by a 3-1 margin before working out to a 9-5 lead to force an RU timeout. After opening the set with a few lead changes, Illinois put the Scarlet Knights away by a final 25-16 decision.
Michelle Strizak led the Orange and Blue attack with 15 kills on 28 swings for a .464 hitting percentage. Roustio contributed 13 kills and a .522 mark, while Katie Stadick posted 12 kills on 22 attempts for a .455 reading.
Playing all the way around, Stark finished with eight kills on 15 swings and also added seven digs, four assists and a trio of blocking assists. Poulter finished with 40 assists to accompany seven digs, two blocking assists and a service ace.
"I thought Jordyn did a nice job distributing the ball," shared Hambly. "She got us into a nice rhythm and a nice tempo; it was good to see us execute like that."
Brandi Donnelly notched a 19-dig effort and a pair of assists on the night while Danielle Davis added eight of her own. Ali Bastianelli contributed a solo block and five blocks assists in the contest defensively.
Illinois heads north to play No. 16 Wisconsin on Wednesday, Sept. 30, for a BTN televised contest. Three days later, the end of the Fighting Illini's five-week stretch on the road will finally arrive when UI visits 21st-ranked Minnesota.
