CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Behind a strong offensive showing from senior Jacqueline Quade and junior Megan Cooney, the No. 25 Illinois volleyball team earned a Saturday (November 16) night sweep of Rutgers on 80s Night in Huff Hall.
Along with the win, it was a special night for senior Ashlyn Fleming, who with her sixth kill of the night reached 1,000 kills in her four-year career. After starting her collegiate career and totaling 554 kills at the University of the Pacific, Fleming transferred to Illinois prior to her junior season and has accumulated 446 kills while in the Orange and Blue.
Quade and Cooney both turned in a match-high 14 kills, with the senior posting a season-best .400 hitting percentage and the junior registering a .333 attack clip. Redshirt-freshman Diana Brown handed out 38 assists en route to guiding the Illini (13-12, 8-8 B1G) to a .308 team hitting percentage.
As a team, the Illini (13-12, 8-8 B1G) served up nine aces in the win, with Fleming leading the way with four, Quade tallying three and sophomore Taylor Kuper contributing two.
Defensively, the Illini held the Scarlet Knights (8-19, 2-14 B1G) to a .174 attack clip behind 7.5 blocks, highlighted by four stuffs from Fleming and three from Cooney, while junior Morgan O'Brien had another strong outing with a match-high 17 digs in the win.
The Illini cruised to an early advantage in the match as a 14-2 run turned a slim 9-7 lead into a commanding 23-9 edge, before kills from Cooney and freshman Kennedy Collins sealed the 25-11 win in the opener.
In similar fashion in the second set, the Illini used runs of 9-3 early and 6-1 late to go ahead by 11 at 22-11 as the two teams traded points until a RU miscue gave the home team a two-set advantage at 25-15.
In the closest period of the match, the Illini held the advantage throughout the set, with Rutgers only getting as close as 21-20 following a 4-0 Scarlett Knight run. But the Illini answered back by with two-straight Quade kills, before Collins combined with sophomore Mica Allison for a block to take the third, 25-20 and the match, 3-0.
The Illini next head on the road for a two-match swing, starting with a Friday (November 22) night meeting with Maryland in College Park, Md., before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Sunday (November 24).
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