BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 18 Illinois volleyball team made quick work against Indiana on Friday (October 4) evening, needing only an hour and 20 minutes to earn its second-straight Big Ten Conference sweep after taking a 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-19) win over the Hoosiers in Wilkinson Hall.
The Illini (7-5, 2-1 B1G) registered their best hitting percentage of the season against the Hoosiers, notching a .344 attack clip with marks of .462 and .324 in the second and third sets, respectively. Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown posted her seventh-career double-double with 32 assists and a team-high 11 digs and added three blocks and two service aces in the win.
Junior Megan Cooney paced all players with 13 kills on a blistering .706 hitting percentage – good enough for seventh all-time in program history – after registering just one error in 17 swings to go along with three blocks. Cooney comes just short of her career-high hitting percentage of .714 that she recorded against UC Irvine with a 15-of-21 effort on September 8, 2018.
Senior Ashlyn Fleming joined her in double figures with 10 kills on a .421 and led the way with six blocks on the night.
Illinois had 11 total blocks on the night and held the Hoosiers (11-5, 0-3 B1G) to a .075 team hitting percentage, with freshman Kennedy Collins notching three blocks and sophomore Mica Allison and senior Jacqueline Quade each tallying two stuffs.
It was a quick start for the Illini in the opening set as UI built a 21-13 lead following a Brown ace, before finishing off the first, 25-20. It was more of the same in the second as the Illini cruised to a 25-13 win behind a .462 team attack percentage and eight-straight points midway through the period on the strength of Brown's serve. A 4-0 start to the third propelled the Illini to a 12-7 advantage following a Cooney-Collins block as the Illini held their edge throughout the remainder of the set for the 25-19 set victory and 3-0 match win.
The Illini continue their Indiana road swing with a trip to West Lafayette, Ind., for a Sunday (October 6) match against No. 17 Purdue in Holloway Gymnasium. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
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