CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 25 Illinois volleyball team had its four-match win streak snapped on Thursday (November 4) night, dropping a 3-0 (20-25, 20-25, 21-25) decision to No. 9 Nebraska on 80's Night in Huff Hall.
The Illini (16-8, 8-5 B1G) were paced by sophomore Raina Terry with a match-high 12 kills on a .250 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs.
Redshirt-junior Diana Brown earned her 36th career double-double and her team-leading 12th of the season with 32 assists and 10 digs, with senior Taylor Kuper leading all players with a match-high 18 digs on the night. Graduate student Megan Cooney posted 11 digs and freshman Caroline Barnes added 10 digs in the match.
Illinois outblocked the Huskers at the net, seven to six, with junior Kennedy Collins turning in a match-high four blocks, with redshirt-freshman Maddie Whittington and Cooney putting up three blocks each.
The Huskers scored the first three points of the match in route to building a 15-6 lead midway through the first, but the Illini answered back with a 4-1 run to close within 16-10 on a Terry kill. After trading points, back-to-back Husker scores pushed the visitor advantage to 19-12, but the Illini again fought back with a 7-3 run to pull within 22-19, capped by three-straight points on kills from Cooney and Terry and a NU error. It would be as close as the Illini would get in the opener as Nebraska then scored three of the final four points to take the set, 25-20.
It was all Illini to start the second as a Terry kill gave the home team an early 5-1 lead, before the Huskers cut their deficit to 7-5 on back-to-back points. UI came right back with a 4-1 run to push its advantage to 11-6 on a block from junior Jessica Nunge and Whittington. The two teams then exchange scores over the next several rallies until back-to-back points gave the Illini a 14-9 lead, but the visitors responded with a 5-2 run to close within 16-14. After a NU attack error gave the Illini an 18-15 edge, the Huskers put together an 8-1 run to pull ahead at 23-19. A Cooney kill then stalled the rally, before back-to-back Husker points gave the visitors the 25-20 set and the 2-0 advantage in the match.
The Illini came out to battle in the third as a Kuper ace highlighted a 3-0 start to the stanza. After the Huskers pulled within a point at 4-3, the Illini pushed their edge back to 9-4 on three-straight scores. Nebraska answered back with a 6-1 run to tie things up at 10-10, but the Illini responded with a 5-1 run of their own to take a 16-12 advantage on back-to-back Terry kills. The Huskers then converted three of the next four points to bring their deficit to two at 17-15, but a Collins kill combined with an ace from Zion, Illinois native pushed the UI lead back to 19-15. Back-to-back Husker points again closed the lead to two, but a Terry kill gave UI a 20-17 advantage. From there it was all Huskers as the visitors strung together six-straight points and ended the set on an 8-1 run take the third, 25-21 and the match, 3-0. Â Â
Illinois continues its four-match homestand on Saturday (November 6), taking on No. 11 Minnesota on 90's Night at 6 p.m. CT in Huff Hall.
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