MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Illinois volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (21-25, 23-25, 13-25) setback to No. 5 Minnesota on Saturday (March 13) evening in Maturi Pavilion. Â
The Illini (2-10) were led by freshman Raina Terry with her second-straight double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while redshirt-sophomore Bruna Vrankovic added nine kills on the night.
 Redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown registered her 20th career double-double and team-leading sixth of the season with 26 assists and a team-high 11 digs.
Defensively, junior Taylor Kuper also notched a team-high 11 digs to go along with three service aces, while sophomore Kennedy Collins totaled a team-high three blocks in the match.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening set with 12 ties and six lead changes as the Illini took the first significant lead at 12-7 on a 6-1 run. The Gophers battled back with six-straight points to take a 15-14 advantage. The two teams then traded points until Minnesota broke a 19-19 tie with a 6-2 run to end the set and take a 1-0 lead with the 25-21 win.
The Gophers continued their momentum into the second by scoring the first four points of the stanza en route to an early 12-6 run. The Illini responded with a 5-1 run to pull within 13-11 on a block from Collins and Vrankovic. Down by two at 16-14, UI then put together a 7-2 run to vault ahead at 21-18 following a Terry kill. The Gophers answered with back-to-back kills to stall the UI momentum, but a kill from sophomore Kyla Swanson gave the Illini a 22-20 advantage. The Gophers then converted four-straight scores to go ahead at 24-22, before trading points for the 25-23 set victory.
Three-straight Vrankovic kills gave Illinois the early 5-2 edge in the third, but the home team came back to tie the score at 6-6. From there, the two teams traded points until the Gophers broke a 12-12 tie with three-straight scores. The Illini cut the deficit to two at 15-13 on a UM error, but the Gophers responded with a 10-0 run to take the set, 25-13 and the match, 3-0.
Next Up
The Illini next return to Huff Hall to open their final four-match homestand of the season against Maryland on March 19-20.
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