CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Sophomore Jacqueline Quade paced the Illini with 16 kills on a .406 hitting percentage, but the Illinois volleyball team suffered a three-set (30-28, 25-11, 25-15) setback to top-ranked Penn State on Saturday (October 28) night in Huff Hall.
Redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince notched nine kills for the Illini (16-7, 7-5), while freshman Megan Cooney added seven kills on the night.
Junior Jordyn Poulter tallied 34 assists against the Nittany Lions (21-1, 11-1), while defensively freshman Morgan O'Brien led the Illini with 10 digs.
Freshman Tyanna Omazic paced UI on the block with three stuffs, with Prince, Cooney and junior Ali Bastianelli each turning in two in the match.
It was a tightly contested battle that saw 19 ties and five lead changes in the first set as PSU broke an 11-11 tie with a 4-1 mini run to take a 15-12 advantage. The Illini fought back as a Quade kill even things at 16-16, before they used a 4-1 run of their own to push them ahead at 21-19.
With the set tied at 23-23, a Prince kill set up the first set point of the period for the Illini at 24-23, but the Nittany Lions answered back and would fight off three more set points until an apparent PSU block appeared to give the visitors their first set point at 28-27. Head coach Chris Tamas challenged the call and it was overturned as the Nittany Lions were ruled to be in the net, giving the Illini their fifth set point of the match at 28-27. An Illini service error then tied the score at 28-28, before back-to-back Heidi Thelen kills gave Penn State the opener, 30-28.
The Illini took an early 5-3 lead on a service ace from sophomore Carolina Welsh in the second set, but the Nittany Lions came back and knotted the score at 6-6, before going on a 13-3 run to take control at 19-9. PSU then finished off the set with three-straight points, capped by a service ace to take the second, 25-11, for a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
It was a quick start for PSU in the third as an Illini attack error put the visitors up 6-2, before an Omazic kill kept the Illini within 9-5. Behind a 6-1 run, the Nittany Lions pushed the deficit to 15-6 on another Illini attack error. Down but not out, the Illini continued to battle and used a 7-2 run of their own to close within 18-14, capped by Prince winning a joust at the net for an Illini kill. PSU then responded by finishing the set with a 7-1 run for the 25-15 set win and the three-set match victory.
The Illini continue their three-match homestand with a pair of Big Ten Network-broadcasted matches next week, first hosting Northwestern in a midweek bout on Wednesday (November 1) at 8 p.m. CT, before facing off against Michigan on Saturday (November 4) night at 7:30 p.m.
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