EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 4 Illinois volleyball team battled its way to its 12th-straight victory and its 13th road win of the season with a 3-1 decision over Michigan State on Wednesday (November 21) night at Jenison Field House.
Sophomore Megan Cooney and redshirt-junior Beth Prince led the way for the Illini (27-3, 16-3 B1G) with 13 kills each as Cooney registered a .407 hitting percentage with only two errors in 27 swings and added five blocks on the night. Junior Jacqueline Quade joined the duo in double figures with 10 kills to go along with two aces and four blocks.
As a team, the Illini posted a .252 hitting percentage with senior Jordyn Poulter handing out 44 assists to go along with nine digs, four blocks and four kills.
Defensively, senior Ali Bastianelli totaled a match-high seven blocks, with junior Ashlyn Fleming also notching five stuffs and two service aces. Sophomore Morgan O'Brien paced the team with 14 digs, while freshman Taylor Kuper added 12 digs and a pair of aces as the Spartans (17-15, 5-14 B1G) were held to a .135 team attack clip.
After scoring the first six points of the match, the Spartans took an early 13-5 advantage. Three-straight points on a Bastianelli and Poulter block and back-to-back MSU hitting errors then started a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to four at 15-11, but back-to-back scores from the home team slowed the rally. After a Cooney kill made it 19-14, MSU strung together four-straight points for the 23-14 advantage. From there, the Illini fought back to within 24-21 on a 6-1 run – including fighting off two set points – before an MSU kill finished off the first at 25-21.
It was a back-and-forth start to the second set as neither team grabbed more than a two-point edge until back-to-back scores put the home team ahead at 9-6. The Illini then put together an 8-2 run to take a 14-11 lead on an MSU attack error. After a Bastianelli kill gave UI a five-point lead at 18-13, the Spartans closed within two at 19-17 after taking three of the next four points. The home team closed within two points on three more occasions, before back-to-back kills from Cooney and Poulter sealed the 25-21 win and evened the match at 1-1.
The Illini jumped out quickly in the third as a Quade ace gave the visitors a 7-2 advantage, but the Spartans scored the next four of five points to close within 8-6 early in the period. UI then took control of the set with a 10-2 run – including three Cooney kills and a pair of Quade scores – for the 18-8 advantage. From there, the two teams traded points until a Prince kill made it 24-15 as the Spartans fought off one set point before Cooney and Fleming teamed for the block and the 25-16 set victory.
Five-straight points from the Illini broke an early 5-5 tie in the fourth as the visitors grabbed a 10-5 advantage, but the Spartans responded with their own 6-0 run to knot things at 13-13. UI then answered back with nine-straight scores to pull ahead at 22-13 following an MSU hitting error. Back-to-back Spartan kills stopped the run, but a Cooney kill, followed by a Kuper ace sent the Illini to the 25-16 set win and the 3-1 victory.
Illinois next hosts No. 12 Purdue in the regular season finale on Saturday (November 24) at 5 p.m. CT. The Illini will look to Orange Out Huff Hall as fans are encouraged to wear orange to the match. Saturday's match will also serve as Senior Night as the Illini will honor seniors Ali Bastianelli, Blayke Hranicka and Jordyn Poulter post-match. Along with the Orange Out and Senior Night, the Illini are hosting a food drive to benefit Feeding Our Kids. Bring a non-perishable food item and get a $4 general admission ticket to the match.
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