CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 7 Illinois volleyball team put together an efficient performance on Friday (September 28) night, earning an straight-sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-20) sweep over Iowa in just under an hour and a half on Hawaiian Night in Huff Hall.
The Illini (14-0, 3-0 B1G) had a balanced attack on the night, with junior Jacqueline Quade leading the way with her seventh career double-double and third of the season with 12 kills on a .400 hitting percentage and 12 digs. Senior Ali Bastianelli joined her in double figures with 11 kills on a .412 attack clip and four blocks, while junior Ashlyn Fleming turned in nine kills with no errors in 13 swings for a .692 hitting percentage to go along with a match-high five blocks.
As a team, the Illini registered a .321 hitting percentage as senior Jordyn Poulter notched her second-straight double-double – the 29th of her career and sixth of the season – with 46 assists and team-highs of 15 digs and five blocks.
In an opening set that saw 10 ties within the first 30 points, the Illini broke a 15-15 score with four-straight points capped by a Bastianelli and Megan Cooney block for the 19-15 lead. After the Hawkeyes (9-5, 1-2 B1G) pulled within two at 22-20, the Illini finished off the first with a Fleming kill followed by back-to-back Iowa hitting errors.
The Illini opened the second set with three-straight points en route to a 5-1 edge, but the Hawkeyes fought back to within 7-6. UI responded by taking five of the next six points to build a 12-7 advantage following a kill from redshirt-junior Beth Prince. After a Bastianelli kill put the Illini ahead at 17-11, the Hawkeyes answered with back-to-back scores to close to within 17-13, but it would be as close as they would get as Illinois used an 8-3 run to take the second, 25-16.
After opening the third with kills from Prince and Fleming, the Illini held a slim advantage until a Poulter and Flemng block pushed the edge to 9-5. From there, the visitors cut their deficit to one at 11-10, but the Illini fought back with a 5-1 run to take a 16-11 lead on a Poulter solo block. The Hawkeyes continued to battle, using a 9-4 run to cut the advantage to two at 20-18, but the Illini scored the next four of five points to set up match point at 24-19 on a Cooney kill. After an Iowa score killed off one match point, Bastianelli sealed the sweep with her 11th kill of the night.
Illinois continues its four-match homestand with Stuff Huff on Saturday (September 29) night as the Illini welcome in defending national champion and No. 3-ranked Nebraska. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT on BTN.
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