CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois volleyball team put together a gutsy team performance led by outstanding play from its upperclassmen in a thrilling five-set (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 17-15) victory over Michigan on Saturday (November 4) night in Huff Hall.
Redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince, senior Brandi Donnelly and junior Jordyn Poulter were key in the victory for the Illini, who improve to 18-7 and 9-5 in the Big Ten. Prince paced all players with a career-high 26 kills, while Donnelly also turned in a career- and match-high 27 digs in the win. Poulter added her 18th career double-double and eight this season with 50 assists, 14 digs and team-high six blocks.
Sophomore Jacqueline Quade and freshman Megan Cooney joined Prince in double figures with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while freshman Tyanna Omazic also notched a team-high six blocks on the night.
As a team, the Illini registered a .254 hitting percentage and outblocked the Wolverines (16-10, 7-7), 12 to seven.
After the Illini took an early 2-0 lead in the match, the Wolverines came back to tie things up and send the match to a fifth and final stanza. In a final set that saw 14 ties, neither team could grab more an a point advantage until kills from Quade and Prince put the Illini up at 11-9. UM battled back to knot things at 11-11 as the set went back-and-forth until a Prince kill set up the first Illini match point at 14-13. Michigan would go on to fight off two match points, until a Quade kill set up the third at 16-15 and an Omazic ace sealed the five-set victory.
The Illini jumped out quickly against the Wolverines, as a block from Poulter and Omazic put the home team ahead 11-5, before a Prince kill pushed the lead out to 14-6 in the opening set. Another Prince attack gave the Illini a 10-point advantage at 19-9, but the visitors used an 8-2 run to close within 21-17. Illinois responded by finishing out the stanza by taking four of the final five points - capped by a setter dump from Poulter - for a 25-18 set one win.
It was a side-out start to the second set as neither team could pull ahead until the Wolverines strung three-straight points together for a 16-13 edge. The Illini took little time to respond with four-unanswered point to pull ahead at 17-16 following a Quade and Omazic block. After the two teams went back-and-forth over the next several points, the Illini put together back-to-back points, including a block from Quade and junior Ali Bastianelli for a 21-19 advantage. Leading by one at 22-21, the Illini shut down the Wolverines with back-to-back Prince kills, before Poulter and Omazic combined for set-winning block at 25-21.
Out of the break, the Wolverines came out fast for the 5-1 advantage in the third, but the Illini battled back to close within 8-7 on a kill from Cooney. UI continued to keep it close until Michigan used a 4-1 mini run to push its edge to 18-13. Illinois answered back as a 6-1 run brought the home team within one at 21-20 following a Poulter solo stuff. Three-straight points from the visitors then gave the Wolverines set point at 24-20. The Illini fought off a pair of points before a Carly Skjodt kill gave UM the 25-22 win and pushed the match to a fourth set.
Back-to-back kills from Cooney and Bastianelli broke an early 5-5 tie in the fourth to give the Illini a slight advantage at 7-5, but the Wolverines stormed back with a 7-0 run en route to a 12-7 edge. Back-to-back points from junior Blayke Hranicka then brought the Illini within 12-9, before five-unanswered points put the Illini ahead at 14-13 following back-to-back blocks from Prince, Poulter and Omazic. With the score tied at 17-17, Michigan forced a decisive fifth set after ending the fourth on an 8-2 run for the 25-19 set win.
The Illini head back on the road next weekend, heading to the Mitten state to take on Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., on Friday (November 10) at 5:30 p.m. CT, before traveling to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines the second time in an eight-day span on Saturday (November 11) at 6 p.m.
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