CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With a Big Ten volleyball atmosphere and a rowdy crowd in Huff Hall, the No. 8 Illinois volleyball team finished up its nonconference slate with a perfect 11-0 record after a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over No. 10 Creighton – the fourth top-25 win of the season - on Saturday (September 15) night.
Junior Jacqueline Quade had a strong tournament for the Illini, totaling 49 kills for a 4.90 kills per set average on a .379 hitting percentage and capped her weekend with her sixth career 20-kill match after posting a team-high 21 kills on a .356 hitting percentage and seven digs.
Sophomore Megan Cooney joined her in double figures with 12 kills and redshirt-junior Beth Prince added eight kills on the night.
Senior Jordyn Poulter registered her 27th double-double of her career and fourth of the season with 45 assists and 15 digs, to go along with five kills on a .444 attack clip and four blocks. Poulter was dynamite for the Illini in the tournament, tallying 117 assists for a 11.70 helpers per set mark en route to a .321 team hitting percentage in the three matches. She added 27 digs, eight blocks, eight kills and four service aces in the three wins.
The Illini block came alive in the final three sets against Creighton (8-4) with UI winning the block battle, 14 to two, with senior Ali Bastianelli turning in a season-high nine blocks. Cooney and senior Blayke Hranicka each notched five stuffs in the win.
Defensively, sophomore Morgan O'Brien was one of three Illini with double-digit digs with a team-high 18, while junior Caroline Welsh joined O'Brien and Poulter with 11 digs.
After scoring the first three points of the match, the Bluejays jumped out to a 9-3 edge, before pushing the lead to 16-8 on four-straight points. The Illini closed within 21-15 with a 4-2 run capped by a setter dump from Poulter. Trailing 24-17, the Illini fought off two set-points, before a UI service error gave CU the opener, 25-19.
Creighton again scored the first two points of the second set, but back-to-back blocks gave the Illini their first lead of the match at 3-2. From there the two teams went back-and-forth before the Illini broke a 9-9 tie with an 8-2 run – including five-straight points on the serve of freshman Taylor Kuper – to take a 18-11 advantage. CU responded with their own 9-3 run to cut the lead to one at 21-20 on a Bluejay service ace, but the Illini answered back with three-straight points with a Cooney kill finishing off the 25-21 set win to even the match.
In another closely contested period, the two teams traded points until the Illini strung together four-straight points for a 12-9 edge, including back-to-back Quade kills. Creighton drew within 14-13, but three-straight points pushed the advantage back to 17-13 on another Quade score. The Illini continued to lead as the teams sided out until a Quade kill combined with a Poulter and Bastianelli block sealed the 25-21 set victory.
The Illini came out firing for a 7-1 lead in the fourth as a Quade serve was called out, before being reversed following a Chris Tamas challenge. The Bluejays battled back to within one at 9-8 on three-straight scores, but a Cooney kill stalled the rally. The Illini continued to hold a slim advantage until a 6-2 run pushed the edge out to 17-12 midway through the set. From there, the Bluejays ran off seven-straight points to go ahead at 19-17. With the visitors leading at 20-18, the Orange and Blue then went on an 8-3 run to finish of the match as a big-time Quade kill was followed by a stuff from Poulter and Bastianelli for 3-0 victory and the 25-23 set win.
The Illini next open Big Ten Conference play on the road, traveling to the Hoosier state to take on Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., on Friday (September 21) at 6 p.m. CT, before facing Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., on Sunday (September 23) at 12 p.m.
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