SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – The Fighting Illini volleyball team brought home the 2016 Billiken Invitational tournament title on Saturday (Sept. 17) night after registering their fifth-straight win with a three-set (25-22, 25-14, 25-21) victory over host Saint Louis in Chaifetz Pavilion.
With the win, the Illini wrap up nonconference action with a 7-4 record and have won 15-straight sets heading into Wednesday's Big Ten Conference opener at Purdue.
Junior Brandi Donnelly was named the tournament MVP after totaling a team-high 37 digs and provided a strong passing game to propel the Illini offense throughout the weekend, with sophomore Ali Bastianelli and freshman Caroline Welsh also earning all-tournament honors.
In front of a split crowd, the Billikens jumped out quickly with a 6-3 lead in the opening set of the match. Back-to-back Bastianelli points, followed by a SLU hitting error evened the score at 7-7 as the two teams traded the lead back-and-forth. Leading by one at 12-11, the Illini used a 6-3 mini run, capped by an ace from senior Michelle Strizak, to gain some separation from the home team at 18-14. The Billikens again closed within one at 19-18, but kills from freshman Jacqueline Quade and senior Katie Stadick pushed the score to 21-18. It would be all the room UI needed as a Strizak kill sealed the first set win at 25-22.
It was another tight set early in the set with the score knotted at 3-3, before the Illini broke the tie and took control of the period with an 11-3 run, including five-straight points - four of which coming from Bastianelli – to grab a 14-6 edge. With the Illini leading at 20-9, SLU put together four-straight points, but Illinois responded with five of the next six points to finish off the dominating set that UI hit at a .520 clip, while holding the Billikens to just a .057 hitting percentage.
The Illini looked to wraps things up quick in the third with the set's first four points and led 5-1, before SLU stormed by to even the score at 5-5. A service ace from Danielle Davis made it 9-7, but the Billikens continued to fight and tied it up at 12-12. Back-to-back SLU hitting errors combined with a Jordyn Poulter ace gave the Illini breathing room at 15-12. After two-straight Billiken points, the Illini pushed their lead back out to five points at 21-16 following a SLU ball handling error. The Billikens then registered four of the next six points to cut the deficit to 23-20, but a SLU service error combined with a Quade kill wrapped up the Orange and Blue win.
The Illini had four players with six kills or more against the Billikens, with Quade pacing the team with eight, while Strizak and senior Naya Crittenden each tallied seven and Stadick turned in six. Both Crittenden and Stadick registered hitting percentages above .450 and collected four blocks each.
As a team, the Illini registered a .287 hitting percentage against SLU, posting a .407 hitting percentage on the weekend. Poulter led the Illini offense with 29 assists in the win and totaled 102 helpers in the tournament.
Bastianelli led the Illini with eight blocks and finished the tournament with 18 total blocks as UI out-blocked the Billikens, 12-4. Donnelly and Welsh both added nine digs in the win.
Illinois next opens Big Ten Conference play on the road in West Lafayette, Ind., in a BTN-televised match against No. 14 Purdue on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. CT in Holloway Gymnasium.
