EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 24 Fighting Illini volleyball team used a complete team effort en route to earning its third-straight Big Ten Conference road win in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-18) sweep against Northwestern on Wednesday (Oct. 5) night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Orange and Blue improve to 11-5 on the season and 4-1 in the conference and have won nine of their last 10 matches, while the Wildcats fall to 7-10 and 0-5 in the league.
Senior Katie Stadick led a balanced Illini attack with 10 kills on 15 swings and only one error for a .600 hitting percentage, while sophomore setter Jordyn Poulter registered her first double-double of the season and the ninth of her career with 33 assists and 10 digs. She also added three kills on five attacks for a .400 hitting percentage and three blocks in the win.
It was a back-and-forth start to the match as neither team grabbed more than a two-point lead throughout much of the opening set. With the score tied at 18-18, the Illini kicked it into another gear with a 7-0 run to finish the set as senior Michelle Strizak served the last six points, including an ace to seal the 25-18 win.
The Wildcats came out fired up in the second to take an early 5-3 edge, but a kill from sophomore Ali Bastianelli evens things at 6-6. The Illini jumped ahead at 10-7 following an NU attacking error, but back-to-back Wildcat points pulled the home team within one at 10-9. From then it was all Illini as six-straight UI points – with five coming on the serve of freshman Caroline Welsh - turned into a 15-4 run to give the Illini a two-set advantage going into the break.
Out of intermission, NU scored the set's first three points to build a 4-1 lead, but three-straight Illini points knotted things at 4-4. From there it went back-and-forth as neither team could grab the momentum. Trailing by one at 14-13, Illini strung together four-straight points, capped by a kill from freshman Jacqueline Quade, to push ahead at 17-14. Back-to-back Stadick kills gave the Illini a 21-16 advantage, as the Illini did not look back before senior Naya Crittenden wrapped up the victory with a kill.
As a team, the Illini posted a .311 hitting percentage, including a .481 mark in the opening set. Crittenden added nine kills and three stuffs on the night, while Bastainelli chipped in seven kills and led UI with five blocks.
Junior libero Brandi Donnelly paced the Illini with a match-high 13 digs.
The Illini held the Wildcats to just a .034 hitting percentage while outdigging the home team, 38 to 33, and outblocking NU, 8.0 to 4.0.
Illinois wraps up its three-match road swing on Saturday (Oct. 8) night in Madison, Wis., in a BTN broadcasted match against No. 2 Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m. CT in the UW Field House.
