LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fighting Illini volleyball swept its way through the Cardinal Classic, going a perfect 9-0 in sets, concluded by a straight set (25-18, 25-15, 25-20) victory over, host, Louisville on Saturday night at Cardinal Arena. Illini junior setter Jordyn Poulter was named tournament MVP, while senior Brandi Donnelly and junior Ali Bastianelli received All-Tournament honors. With the victory, the Illini improve to 6-0 on the season.
Tournament MVP Poulter paced the Illini to a .336 hitting percentage on the weekend, including a new single-match school record (.652) against No. 24 Western Kentucky, while their opponents were held to a .109 clip. Averaging 13.9 kills per set, the Illini were led by Jacqueline Quade who tallied 34, while Bastianelli led the team with her .587 (30-3-46) hitting percentage. On defense, led by Bastianelli's 18 blocks, the Orange and Blue tallied 30 blocks to their opponent's six. Illinois' eight service aces against the Cardinals gave them 19 for the weekend while they surrendered only five.
Over the course of the weekend, the Illini also received significant contributions from two freshmen, Megan Cooney and Morgan O'Brien. Cooney received the start at opposite in all three matches for the Illini, registering eight kills and 11 blocks, while O'Brien served up five aces on the weekend, including a season-high three against the Cardinals.
Against Louisville Saturday night, it was again the Illini combination of attack efficiency and blocking ability that paced the victory. As a team, the Illini outhit the Cardinals, .261-.041, and served up eight aces while only allowing three. Defensively, the Illini again dominated the battle at the net with 13 blocks against Louisville's three.
Tied 8-8 in the opening set, junior Blayke Hranicka came up big to key a 4-0 run with two kills and a block assist. After the Cardinals drew back to within one, 16-15, the Illini used another spurt, this time a 5-0 run, with two kills from redshirt sophomore Beth Prince and an ace by Bastianelli. Two more kills from Prince, giving her four for the set, finished off Louisville, 25-18. Also highlighting the set was freshman Morgan O'Brien who put away two of her career-high three aces in the match to keep Louisville off balance.
After trading points in the early going of set two, the Illini again found a rhythm, this time coming with setter Poulter serving. Tied 7-7, Poulter served up seven straight points for the Fighting Illini, contributing two aces to the rally. After pushing the lead out to eight, 16-8, the Cardinal setter, Wilma Rivera, took her turn serving a pair of aces to spur a comeback. With the lead cut to three, the Illini again responded with a run, this time outscoring Louisville 9-2 to finish the set, 25-15. In the late run, Bastianelli and Quade each added two more kills to go with O'Brien's third ace of the match.
A seesaw battle ensued in the third set of the match, as the Illini and Cardinals traded points for most of the match. With neither sided gaining an advantage bigger than two, and Louisville leading 16-15, sophomore Caroline Welsh served the Orange and Blue back into the lead with kills by Hranicka bookending the 4-0 spurt. After a Louisville kill briefly stunted the run, the Illini again pushed four straight points across with a kill from Quade, two blocks and an ace from Donnelly, giving the Illini a 23-17 lead. After two Illinois attack errors brought Louisville to within four, Bastianelli sealed the victory with her eighth and ninth kills of the match.
Earlier in the day, the Illini defeated No. 24 Western Kentucky in straight sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-13) and set a new single-match team hit percentage record (.652) in the process. Individually, Bastianelli set a career-best .917 (11-12), while Prince contributed a career-high 12 kills, highlighted by nine in the clinching set.
The Fighting Illini return to Champaign, Illinois next weekend to make their 2017 home debut as part of the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge. Friday, September 8, is the annual 'Stuff Huff' match as the Illini host top-ranked Stanford at 7 p.m. central time. The Orange and Blue return back to the court on Saturday, September 9, to play Colorado at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for both of those matches can be purchased here.
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