PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Illinois volleyball did not waste any time in collecting their third-straight win as the Illini earned a straight-sets victory (25-11. 25-12, 25-17) over Rutgers in just an hour and 15 minutes on Friday (Nov. 25) night in College Ave Gym.
With the win, the Illini improve their overall record to 17-13 and 10-9 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Scarlet Knights drop to 4-28 and 0-19 in the league.
Freshman Jacqueline Quade paced a balanced Illini attack, posting 11 kills on just two errors in 19 swings for a .474 hitting percentage. As a team, the Orange and Blue registered a .430 hitting percentage, with five players recording a hitting percentage of .350 or higher in the win.
Holding onto a one-point lead at 5-4 early in the opening set, the Illini put together an 11-0 run – including 10-straight points, four of which were aces, on the serve of sophomore Ali Bastianelli – to take a 16-4 edge. The Illini then sailed to a 1-0 advantage in the match as back-to-back Quade kills finished the opening set in favor of the Illini, 25-11.
The Illini continued their hot start in the second with the first three points of the set, but the Scarlet Knights fought back to close within 8-7. Leading by three at 13-10, the Illini again put the set out of reach with a 12-2 run, including another four-straight points served by Bastianelli, before a solo block from senior Katie Stadick closed the stanza out at 25-12.
Following a back-and-forth start to the third, the Illini strung together four-straight points to build an 11-6 advantage. Continuing to lead at 17-10, Rutgers closed within 17-13 with three-straight scores, but the Illini responded by taking the next four of five points for a 21-14 lead. The Illini then sealed the three-straight win with a Quade kill, followed by a block from Stadick and senior Naya Crittenden.
Senior Katie Stadick came within one kill of double figures with nine on the night and only one error in 13 swings for a match-high .615 hitting percentage.
For the 23rd time this season, the Illini outblocked their opponent, nine to two, and held RU to a .077 hitting percentage. Bastianelli led the way with five stuffs on the night, while sophomore Jordyn Poulter added four blocks to go with her team-high 37 assists.
The Illini totaled seven aces on the night, with Bastianelli equaling a career-high with four against the Scarlet Knights.
Defensively, junior Brandi Donnelly collected 11 digs.
Illinois will next head to University Park, Pa., for its regular season finale against Penn State in Rec Gym on Saturday (Nov. 25) night at 7 p.m. CT.
