CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With contributions from every Illini, the Illinois volleyball team earned a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-22) victory over Maryland on Friday (March 19) night in Huff Hall.
Redshirt-sophomore Bruna Vrankovic led all players with a career-high 16 kills, while freshman Raina Terry came within just two service aces of a triple-double after totaling 13 kills and career-highs of 15 digs and eight aces. It was her third-straight double-double and the fifth in her last seven matches.
Terry's eight aces also tied for the second-most in a single match in program history, just one off the program record of nine, set by Colleen Ward against BYU during the 2010 season.
Redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown also notched her third-straight double-double wih 39 assists and a team-high 16 digs to go along with a pair of blocks. It was the 21st career double-double and her team-leading seventh of the season.
Brown and Terry were just two of the four Illini with double digit digs as junior Taylor Kuper picked up 15 digs and sophomore Alyssa Eske – earning her first-career start on the night – added 12 digs.
At the net, sophomores Kennedy Collins and Rylee Hinton led the way with three blocks each in the win.
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair that saw seven ties and four lead changes, with neither team grabbing a significant lead until the Terps (4-11) went ahead at 19-15 midway through the period. Four-straight Illini points – including back-to-back Terry aces – knotted the score at 20-20. After UMD again grabbed a 22-20 edge, the Illini fought back to tie things up at 22-22 on a block from Collins and senior Emily Hollowell, but the Terps responded with three-straight kills to take the first, 25-22.
It was all Illini to start the second set as the home team jumped out to an early 10-3 advantage. UMD closed within five at 10-5, but another 10-4 run pushed the lead to 20-9 following a Terp hitting error. The Terps then rattled off three-straight scores, but a Vrankovic kill stalled the momentum. After a Terry ace set up set point at 24-13, UMD fought off four set points until Hollowell finished off the second, 25-17.
In another tight set that saw 10 ties, the Illini were the first to grab more than a two-point edge as a Vrankovic kill gave UI at 17-14 lead, but the Terps would then string together three-straight points to even the set at 17-17. From there it was all Illini as the Vrankovic serve helped Illinois rattle off seven-straight points for the 24-17 advantage, before a UMD service error gave the Illini the 25-18 set win and the 2-1 advantage in the match.
Looking to close out the match, the Illini grabbed an early 11-5 lead, before a 6-2 Terp run closed the advantage to two at 13-11. The Illini then took control of the set with a 10-2 run to take a commanding 23-13 lead, but the Terps did not quit and put together a 9-1 run – including kicking off their run with six-unanswered scores – to close with 24-22, before Terry ended the run with a kill to send the Illini to a 25-22 set win and 3-1 match victory.
Next Up
The Illini takes on Maryland for the second of a two-match series on Saturday (March 20) at 5 p.m. CT in Huff Hall.
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