CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 8 Illinois volleyball team put on a dominating performance on Saturday (September 14) afternoon in Huff Hall en route to earning their fifth-straight sweep (25-14, 25-13, 25-11) against Lipscomb on day two of the Illini Classic.
The Illini (10-0) offense was on fire against the Bisons (5-7), registering a .513 team hitting percentage with only three total errors on the day – just one off the record of two set against Northeastern Illinois during the 1992 season – and had five players hitting .429 or higher in the win.
Junior Jacqueline Quade led the Illini attack with a match-high 13 kills on a .480 hitting percentage, while sophomore Megan Cooney tallied 12 kills on a .524 clip. Redshirt-junior Beth Prince added eight kills on a .571 percentage, with senior Ali Bastianelli hitting .625 with five kills.
Senior setter Jordyn Poulter passed out 33 assists and totaled seven digs, while sophomore Morgan O'Brien paced the team with eight digs.
Defensively, the Illini held LU to a .024 hitting percentage and outblocked the visitors, 15 to one, with Bastianelli leading the at the net with eight stuffs. Cooney and junior Ashlyn Fleming also turned in five blocks each for the Illini.
The Orange and Blue jumped on the Bisons from the beginning as back-to-back Bastianelli service aces put the home team ahead, 12-5, before five unanswered scores pushed the lead to 19-9. The two teams then traded points as a Cooney and senior Blayke Hranicka blocked the Bisons for set point at 25-14.
The hot start continued into the second period with the Illini scoring the first eight points of the set on the serve of Poulter. After LU cut the lead to 10-5, the home team responded with a 10-4 run to take control at 20-9 following a Bison hitting error. The Illini then grabbed the 2-0 advantage in the match by taking the final three of four points in the set, capped by a Quade kill at 25-13.
Following a back-and-forth start to the third that saw the Illini hold a three-point edge at 11-8, UI responded with a 14-3 run to end the match – including seven-straight points to start the run, with six points coming on the serve of Poulter – to earn the 25-11 victory in the third and the sweep of the Bisons.
Illinois finishes its nonconference slate with the finale match of the Illini Classic as the Orange and Blue host a top-10 showdown with No. 10 Creighton at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday (September 15). To purchase tickets or for more information, click HERE.
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