IOWA CITY, Iowa – The No. 24 Fighting Illini team received career performances from seniors Michelle Strizak and Naya Crittenden, sophomore Jordyn Poulter and redshirt-freshman Beth Prince, but were tripped up by Iowa in a five-set battle (20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 12-15) – their seventh fifth-set match of the season - on Saturday (Oct. 29) night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Illini fall to 14-9 on the season and 7-5 in the Big Ten Conference with the setback, while the Hawkeyes move to 17-7 and 7-5 in the league.
Crittenden led all Illini hitters with a team-high 16 kills on 26 attacks and only four errors for a .462 hitting percentage, while Strizak registered her fifth career double-double with 15 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Prince, who previously had 15 career kills, came off the bench and made an immediate impact with a career-high 11 kills on the night. Poulter paced the Illini offense with a career-high 60 assists.
In the highly competitive match, neither team would gain much control in the first four stanzas as late-set runs determined the outcome. After falling behind 2-1 in the contest and with the fourth set knotted at 16-16, four-straight points – including back-to-back service aces from junior Brandi Donnelly gave the visitors a 20-16 edge. The Hawkeyes would not make it is and mounted a comeback to tie the score at 24-24, but a Crittenden kill, followed by a kill from Strizak and classmate Katie Stadick sent the match to a decisive fifth set.
After a Crittenden opened the fifth and final set, the Hawkeyes jumped out to a 7-5 lead with back-to-back points. After the Illini evened up the score at 8-8, Iowa used a 6-2 run to take a 14-10 advantage. Illinois fought off two match points on Prince and Stadick kills, before the Hawkeyes finished it on a Ashley Mariani kill. Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly challenged the final play as a touch on the Iowa attack was called, but the point was not overturned, giving the Hawkeyes the win.
Both teams were strong offensively in the match, with the Illini registering a .312 hitting percentage, with three sets over .300 including a .484 mark in the second period, while the Hawkeyes also posted a .314 hitting percentage with three of five sets over .300.
Stadick and sophomore Ali Bastianelli also totaled double-digit kills with Stadick notching 11 kills to go with a match-high eight blocks and Bastianelli recording 10 kills on 15 swings and only two errors for a .533 hitting percentage and six stuffs. As a team, the Illini outblocked Iowa 14-6 in the match.
Defensively, Donnelly added 14 digs in the loss.
Illinois returns to action next weekend as the Illini continue their four-match road swing with trips to No. 13 Michigan on Friday (Nov. 4) at 6 p.m. CT and No. 15 Michigan State on Saturday (Nov. 5) at 5:30 p.m. CT.
