BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Illinois volleyball team made quick work of Indiana en route to a straight-sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-15) win in its Big Ten Conference opener on Wednesday (September 20) night at University Gym.
The win marks the fifth-straight conference opening victory for the Illini (10-2), both in overall matches and in road contests.
A pair of Indiana natives – sophomore Jacqueline Quade and redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince – propelled the Illini to victory, with Quade totaling a match-high 13 kills, while Prince turned in 12 kills as well as a match and career-high seven stuffs on the night. Junior Ali Bastianelli joined the duo in double figures with 10 kills on a .615 hitting percentage and five blocks.
In a tightly contested opening match that saw 14 ties and seven lead changes, neither team grabbed more than a point advantage until the Hoosiers (11-2) used a 5-0 run to take 10-7 lead. The Illini responded with four-straight points, including a pair of Bastianelli kills, to take back the edge at 14-13. From there the two teams sided out until the Illini took advantage of back-to-back IU errors to break a 23-23 tie for the 25-23 set one win.
A string of four-straight points – including three on the serve of Bastianelli – gave the Illini an early 7-4 edge in the second set. IU closed within two at 11-9, but an 8-3 run, capped by a Quade and junior Blayke Hranicka block, pushed the advantage to 19-12. Back-to-back blocks from Bastianelli and Prince then set up set point at 24-15, before a service ace from sophomore Annika Gereau gave UI the 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
It was all Illini in the third as a 7-2 run early in the period gave the Illini an 11-6 lead that they were not relinquish. Back-to-back Hoosier points cut the edge to three, but it would as close as IU would get. The Illini then finished the period on a 9-3 run as a Quade kill sealed the 3-0 victory with the 25-15 set win.
Junior Jordyn Poulter led the Illini to a team hitting percentage of .365, including a .438 mark in the second and a .452 clip in the third, while posting 38 assists on the night.
Defensively, senior Brandi Donnelly led the team with a match-high 11 digs, with Poulter and freshman Morgan O'Brien each adding seven.
As a team, the Illini registered 11 blocks to the Hoosiers' five, with Hranicka contributing six stuffs in the win.
The Illini continues their Big Ten Conference opening road swing with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern on Saturday (September 23) at 7 p.m. CT in the Evanston Township High School Gym.
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