MADISON, Wis. – The No. 17 Illinois volleyball team battled with No. 6 Wisconsin on Friday (October 18) night, before falling in a five-set thriller (12-25, 25-18, 25-23, 21-25, 4-15) in the Wisconsin Field House.
Senior Jacqueline Quade led with a match-high 19 kills and team-high three blocks, while junior Megan Cooney joined her in double figures with 14 kills. Freshman Kennedy Collins added nine kills on a .538 hitting percentage, with senior Ashlyn Fleming also putting up nine kills to go along with a team-high three stuffs.
Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown registered her team-leading 10th double-double of the season with 48 assists and 13 digs on the night.
Defensively, junior Morgan O'Brien had a strong night for the Illini (9-7, 4-3 B1G) with a season-high 25 digs.
After dropping the opening set to the Badgers (11-4, 7-0 B1G), the Illini stormed back to even things up with a 25-18 set two win after breaking a 7-7 tie with five-straight points and never letting UW back in the period. The Illini continued their momentum into a third set that saw seven ties and three lead changes. With the score tied at 22-22 late in the set, UI took the next three of four points as a Quade kill sealed the 25-23 set win and gave the Illini the 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Badgers then fought back to force a decisive fifth set with a 25-21 victory in the fourth, before opening the final period with a 7-2 run. The Badgers then finished off the win with four-straight points for the 15-4 set win and 3-2 match victory.
The Illini continue their three-match road swing with a Saturday (October 19) night match at No. 7 Minnesota at 7 p.m. CT in Minneapolis, Minn.
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