CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Freshman Raina Terry turned in 12 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to lead Illinois volleyball in a 3-0 (23-25, 15-25, 22-25) setback to No. 4 Nebraska on Friday (March 5) night in Huff Hall.
Redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown handed out 27 assists for the Illini (2-7) and came within one dig of a double-double with nine on the night.
Junior Taylor Kuper led the Illini defensively against the Huskers (8-1) with a match-high 14 digs, while sophomore Rylee Hinton also posted a match-high five blocks.
Kuper and senior Kylie Bruder each added two service aces as UI totaled five aces to Nebraska's two.
After the Huskers opened the match with the first three points, the Illini answered back to tie things up at 3-3, before taking a 12-8 lead on a 7-3 run, capped by a kill from senior Megan Cooney. NU then used a 5-2 run to pull ahead at 17-15, but the Illini countered with back-to-back kills from Terry and sophomore Kennedy Collins. From there, the set saw four ties until the Huskers broke a 22-22 tie by scoring three of the final four points to take the tightly contested first, 25-23.
It was another fast start for the Huskers with a 6-2 advantage, before pushing it out to 11-6 midway through the second. A Collins kill closed the Illini within 13-9, but a 6-1 run from the visitors gave NU a 19-10 edge. The two teams then traded points as the Huskers took a 2-0 advantage in the match with a 25-15 set two win.
In a back-and-forth third stanza – that saw eight ties and four lead changes – the Illini grabbed the first significant lead at 12-8 following a Husker attack error. NU responded with a 6-2 run to knot the score at 14-14. The Illini again jumped out to a three-point edge at 18-15 on a Brown ace, but Nebraska battled back with four of the next five points for another tie at 19-19. With the score again tied at 20-20, the Huskers used a 4-1 run to set up match point at 24-21, before finishing off the match and the set at 25-22.
Next Up
The Illini continue its two-match series with Nebraska on Saturday (March 6) with a 6 p.m. CT match in Huff Hall.
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