CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With contributions coming from every position on the court, the Fighting Illini volleyball team earned a 3-1 (27-29, 25-19, 25-18, 25-20) upset victory over No. 7 Minnesota on Saturday (November 18) night in Huff Hall.
It was the first win over Minnesota for the Illini (19-10, 10-8) since since a sweep in Huff Hall on October 1, 2014, while the No. 7 Gophers (25-4, 14-4) are the highest ranked opponent UI has beaten since defeating No. 5 Penn State in Rec Hall in 2014 as well.
Junior Jordyn Poulter was the catalyst for the Illini and came within one kill of the program's 13th triple-double with 50 assists, 17 digs and nine kills on a .750 hitting percentage, while also adding a match-high five blocks in the win. It was her 20th career double-double and 10th of the season. Poulter also quarterbacked the Illini offense to a .333 hitting percentage, including hitting over the .300 mark in all four sets on the night.
Sophomore Jacqueline Quade also turned in her fourth career double-double and third of the season with a match-high 21 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go along with 10 digs, while redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince joined her in double figures with 19 kills.
Senior Brandi Donnelly also had a big night after collecting her first double-double of her four-year career with a career-high 32 digs – her first-ever 30 dig performance – and a career-high 10 assists.
At the net, the Illini out-blocked the Gophers, 10 to three, with junior Ali Bastianelli also posting a match-high five blocks.
Following an early 6-6 tie, the Gophers put together six-straight points to take a 12-6 lead in the opening set. The Illini answered back with a 10-4 run of their own as a Prince kill knotted the score at 16-16. From there the two teams traded points until back-to-back Gopher points gave the visitors their first set point at 24-22. The Illini battled back with a Poulter and Bastianelli block followed by a Prince kill to tie things at 24-24 and would go on to fight off five set points until back-to-back Alexis Hart kills sealed the first for the Gophers at 29-27.
A 7-0 run from the Illini broke a 6-6 tie early in the second stanza as a kill from freshman Tyanna Omazic made it 13-6. After three-straight points from the Gophers cut the lead to 13-9, the Illini used three-straight points of their own to push the edge back to six at 20-14. The two teams then traded points before a Poulter kill tied the match at 1-1 with the 25-19 set win for the Illini.
It was a back-and-forth beginning to the fourth until the Gophers jumped ahead by three at 12-9 on a Molly Lohman kill. The Illini answered back with a 7-1 run to pull ahead at 16-13 – capped by a Prince kill. After the Gophers pulled within two at 17-15, UI strung together three-straight kills from Prince, Quade and Omazic for the 20-15 advantage. Another three unanswered points – including back-to-back kills from freshman Megan Cooney – put the Illini up big at 23-16, before a Bastianelli kill finished off the set at 25-18.
Feeding off the momentum of the third set, the Illini grabbed an early 9-5 advantage on three-straight points. UM responded with three-straight kills of its own to pull within one at 9-8, but again the Illini used a 4-0 run to build a 13-8 edge. With the Illini continuing to hold their advantage, the Gophers fought back to cut the lead to one at 19-18. The Illini then finished off the Gophers with a 6-2 run to end the set and earn the 3-1 victory.
The Illini will wrap up their home regular season slate on Wednesday (November 22) when they host Iowa on Senior Night at 7 p.m. CT in Huff Hall. The Illini will celebrate the career of lone senior Brandi Donnelly following the conclusion of the match.
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