LINCOLN, Neb. – Senior Naya Crittenden turned in a match-high 11 kills, but it was not enough as the No. 24 Fighting Illini volleyball team fell to No. 1 Nebraska, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-19) on Friday (Oct. 28) night at the Devaney Sports Center.
With the setback, the Illini drop to 14-8 on the season and 7-4 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Huskers improve to 19-1 and 10-1 in the league standings.
The Illini and Huskers traded points early in the opening set, before NU broke a 5-5 tie with four-straight points for an early 9-5 edge. The Illini battled back as a block from senior Michelle Strizak and sophomore Ali Bastianelli evened the score, before an ace from senior Danielle Davis gave the Illini a 12-11 lead. It was back-and-forth from there as the first stanza saw 12 ties and three lead changes throughout. Tied at 17-17, NU put together back-to-back points for a two-point advantage that turned into a 7-3 run and set point for the home team at 24-20. The Illini then fought of all four set points as Bastianelli started the 4-0 run with a solo block, followed by a kill from freshman Jacqueline Quade, another Illini block – this time from senior Katie Stadick and sophomore Jordyn Poulter – before a Stadick kill knotted things at 24-24. Despite the dramatic comeback, Nebraska then finished off the set with back-to-back scores for the 26-24 win.
Continuing to use the momentum from the opening set, NU scored the first three points of the second period, but the Illini responded to even things at 8-8 on a Husker hitting error. From there, the Huskers used a 9-3 run to build a 17-11 advantage that the Illini would not recover from. With three-straight points late in the set, UI closed within 23-20 and then fought off the first set point at 24-20, but an Illini service sealed the 2-0 advantage for the Huskers.
Out of the break, it was a competitive start to the third as neither team had more than a two-point advantage until an Illini attack error gave NU a 15-12 lead. Back-to-back points cut the deficit to one at 15-14, but a 9-2 Husker run pushed the deficit to 24-16. After fighting off three match points, an Andie Malloy kill ended the match in favor of the home team.
As a team, the Illini registered a .170 hitting percentage, while the Huskers hit at a .186 clip in the match. Along with Crittenden, Strizak came within one kill of double figures with nine on the night.
Illinois was hampered on the night by 10 service errors to go with one service ace, while the Huskers had five aces and four service errors.
The Illini out-blocked NU, 8-6, with Bastianelli leading the way with four stuffs. Stadick and Poulter also tallied three blocks, with Poulter also totaling 30 assists.
Freshman Caroline Welsh led the Illini with 12 digs.
Illinois continues its four-match road swing with a trip to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday (Oct. 29) night.
