CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois volleyball team earned its third-straight win with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18) sweep of Indiana on Friday (March 26) in Huff Hall.
Freshman Raina Terry registered her 10th-straight double-digit kill outing as she led the Illini (5-10) with 11 kills on a .364 hitting percentage, with redshirt-sophomore Bruna Vrankovic joining her with 10 kills on the night.
Redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown continued her standout play with her fifth-straight double-double – the 23rd of her career and team-leading ninth of the season – with 32 assists, team-highs of 10 digs and three blocks as well as posting three kills on a .500 attack clip. The setter also directed the Illini to their highest hitting percentage of the season with a .284 percentage in the win.
As a team, the Illini outblocked the Hoosiers (3-14), seven to three, with sophomores Kennedy Collins and Rylee Hinton and senior Megan Cooney also contributing three blocks each.
Junior Taylor Kuper added nine digs defensively and led the Illini with three aces on the night.
It was a back-and-forth start to the match as both teams traded points until a 6-2 run midway through the first pushed the Illini ahead at 15-10 following a Vrankovic kill. IU closed within 15-12, but the Illini went on a 10-3 run – including a string of five-straight points on a strength of the Vrankovic serve – to take the opener, 25-15.
In another tightly contested set – which saw six ties and four lead changes – the Hoosiers grabbed a 14-10 advantage, but the Illini responded with a 9-2 run to retake the lead at 19-16 on a Terry kill. After an Illini service error made it 21-18, back-to-back kills from Cooney and Vrankovic pushed the edge to 23-18. From there, the two teams traded points until a Vrankovic kill sent the Illini to a 25-21 win in the second set.
It was all Illinois in the third as back-to-back Hoosier errors gave the home team an early 8-3 lead. Indiana then used a 4-1 mini run to close within 12-10, but UI answered back with five-straight scores for the 17-10 edge. Indiana came back with four-straight scores of its own to cut the lead to three at 18-15 and again at 19-16, but three-straight points from Cooney and Hinton – including a kill each and capped by a block from the duo – to push the lead back to 22-16. The two teams went back-and-forth until a Cooney kill gave the Illini the 25-18 set win and the 3-0 match victory.
Next Up
The Illini finishes up their two-match series with Indiana on Saturday (March 27) with a Big Ten Network-broadcasted match at 8 p.m. CT in Huff Hall. Following Saturday's home finale, the Illini will recognize five seniors, including Mica Allison, Kylie Bruder, Emily Hollowell, Megan Cooney and manager/volunteer technical coordinator Ryan Anton.
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