CLEVELAND – The No. 11 Illinois volleyball team put together a dominating straight-sets (25-13, 25-6, 25-16) win on Friday (September 7) night, needing only an hour and 13 minutes to take care of host Cleveland State in the CSU Invitational in Woodling Gymnasium.
The Illini (7-0) held the Vikings (4-4) to just six points in the second set, marking the lowest score yielded to an opponent in anything other than a fifth set in the rally scoring era. UI previously held Butler to a 15-6 fifth set during the 2003 season. The previous record of seven points was twice achieved during the rally scoring era – the first coming in 2008 with a 25-7 first set against North Carolina and again in 2015 with a 25-7 second set versus Texas Southern. The last time the Illini held an opponent to single digits came last season with a 25-9 third set against Montana State.
Junior Jacqueline Quade totaled a match-high 16 kills on a .571 hitting percentage and seven digs, while senior Ali Bastianelli and sophomore Megan Cooney joined her in double figures with 10 kills each as Bastianelli hit at a .526 clip and Cooney registered a .318 attack percentage.
As a team, the Illini turned in a .384 hitting percentage with senior Jordyn Poulter posting her third double-double of the season and 26th of her career with 35 assists and 12 digs.
Junior Ashlyn Fleming led the Illini block attack with four stuffs, while Cooney contributed three in the win.
Defensively, the Illini recorded 57 digs to CSU's 41, while holding the Vikings to a .020 hitting percentage on the night. Sophomore Morgan O'Brien led the way with 16 digs, with junior Caroline Welsh adding 10 for the Illini.
Freshman Taylor Kuper also notched a season-high four aces on the night.
It was a strong start for the Illini in the opening set as the visitors scored the first four points of the match on the serve of Kuper en route to a 10-3 edge. Four-straight points capped by a Bastianelli ace pushed the lead to 14-5, before another four-point run put the Illini in control at 20-10 following a CSU attack error. The two teams then sided out until Fleming sealed the 25-13 set win with a kill.
The Illini took advantage of several CSU miscues to grab an early 11-4 lead in the second. After back-to-back Viking scores made it 12-6, the Illini went on a blistering 13-0 run on the serve of Kuper to take the period, 25-6, as Kuper contributed three aces and Cooney added five kills in the run.
In the most competitive set of the match, the Illini broke a 5-5 tie with three-straight scores to build separation from the home team. CSU battled back to cut the lead to three on a number of occasions, but with UI leading 17-14, the visitors closed the door with an 8-2 run to earn the 25-16 set win.
The Illini wrap up play the CSU Invitational on Saturday (September 8) morning with a 10 a.m. CT match against UC Irvine.
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