CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois volleyball team celebrated its 2017 Senior Night for libero Brandi Donnelly and manger Sam Panozzo in style with a dominating 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-12) sweep of Iowa in its home finale on Wednesday (November 22) night in Huff Hall.
Donnelly led all players with 17 digs in her final match at Huff Hall, while helping to hold the Hawkeyes (18-14, 7-12) to a .070 hitting percentage.
As a team, the Illini (20-10, 11-8) registered a .316 attack clip, with junior Ali Bastianelli leading the way with a match-high 13 kills on a .550 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks. Sophomore Jacqueline Quade joined her in double figured with 10 kills, while junior Blayke Hranicka added nine kills on a .692 attack clip and a match-high five stuffs.
Junior Jordyn Poulter directed the Illini offense with 37 assists, while also contributing nine digs, three blocks and two service aces in the win.
After a quick 4-1 start to the match from the Hawkeyes, the Illini battled back to take an 8-6 lead on a kill from junior Beth Prince. The Illini continued to hold a two-point edge over the next several points, before an Iowa block knotted things at 12-12. After back-to-back Illini attack errors gave the Hawkeyes an 18-16 advantage, the Illini turned on the afterburners with a 9-1 run to finish the set at 25-19. The Illini opened the run with six-unanswered points – including four Quade kills – and then ended it with three-straight scores capped by a Prince kill.
It was all Illini in the second as five-straight points to open the stanza turned into a 15-4 lead for the home team, with another six-unanswered points on the back end of the run. Following back-to-back points from freshman Marijke Van Dyke that included a block with Hranicka and kill, the Illini pushed their edge to 23-10. After the Hawkeyes fought off two set points, a Bastianelli kill gave the Illini the 25-13 set win.
Another strong start from the home team put the Illini ahead at 7-2 on a Quade service ace. Iowa battled back to close within 9-6, but UI held the visitors at bay by taking the next four of five points as a Bastianelli solo block made it 13-7 midway through the third. After an Iowa service ace put the Hawkeyes within 16-11, the Illini again shut the door with a 9-1 run to end the set at 25-12 and take the 3-0 victory as a block from Hranicka and freshman Kylie Kuyava-Deberg sealed the deal.
The Illini next wrap up the 2017 regular season on Saturday (November 25) as they travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State in St. Johns Arena at 6 p.m. CT.
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