CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois volleyball used its second-best hitting percentage of the season, .343, to earn a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers inside Huff Hall on Wednesday night. The first home midweek match of the season aired live on ESPNU – the Illini's first televised match of the season and beginning of a five-match stretch.
With Illinois' midweek victory, the team now owns a 9-8 overall record including a 4-3 reading in Big Ten play. Rutgers drops to 7-12 with the loss and is 1-6 in league action.
After Rutgers scored the opening point of the night, Illinois scored the next three on a kill, block and ace, respectively, and won never trail in the set again. With neither bench calling for a break, the Orange and Blue owned a 15-9 lead at the media timeout. Illinois weathered a 3-0 Rutgers run to an 18-13 reading before a Raina Terry kill ended the streak. The Scarlet Knights called a timeout trailing by a touchdown at 21-14 and the Illini would outscore the visitors 4-2 out of the break to secure the set, 25-16.
Set two would play out entirely different as the frame saw 11 ties and seven lead changes. Rutgers struck first again but Illinois would own an 11-7 lead before the Scarlet Knights worked back to knot the score at 14-14. Illinois tallied the next point to own the lead at the media break once again. RU scored six of the next eight points to open up a 20-17 lead. From that juncture, every time the Illini scored, it'd be in multiple points. Rutgers led 23-21 to force UI's final timeout and out of the break, Illinois scored the next three tallies and five of the final six for the 26-24 victory.
Kayla Burbage opened and closed the third set with kills to bookend the 25-17 final frame. Illinois struck for a quick 6-3 lead, which extended to a 10-7 advantage. At the media timeout, the Illini owned a 15-10 lead thanks to a 3-0 run in to the break. Rutgers returned the run shortly later to pull within four at 19-15 but Illinois responded with a 4-0 run to put the frame out of reach.
Three Illini registered double-digit kills with Brooke Mosher leading the way with 12 strikes. Kayla Burbage rattled off 11 on a .450 hitting clip while Raina Terry added 10 kills of her own.
Caroline Barnes led the Illini dig effort with a match-high 12 digs. Diana Brown added nine digs while Mosher tallied eight and Burbage chipped in seven more.
Brown dished out 37 assists in the three-set win and led the Illini to a .343 hitting percentage – the team's second-best mark of the season.
Illinois did not use a true substitution in the entire match, switching only the libero and middles. Mosher, Terry, Burbage and Brown each played all six rotations and every point of the match.
All six Illini that played in the front row tallied multiple blocks on the night. Rylee Hinton led the Orange and Blue with five stuffs while Collins added four.
Illinois volleyball is back in action on the road this weekend as the squad heads to No. 10 Minnesota to continue Big Ten play. Saturday's first serve is slated for 3 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. Illinois football vs. Minnesota in Champaign will kick off at 11 a.m. on BTN with the Illini volleyball match in Minneapolis to follow.
Notes:
- Starters: Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Diana Brown, Kayla Burbage, Caroline Barnes, Raina Terry and Brooke Mosher.
- The Illini wore sleeveless white jerseys for the third time of the season and are now 2-1 when wearing those.
- Three Illini recorded double-digit kills: Brooke Mosher (12), Kayla Burbage (11) and Raina Terry (10).
- Brooke Mosher has now led the Illini in kills back-to-back matches and three of the last four outings.
- Illinois leads the all-time series against Rutgers 13-1 after Wednesday's win. That mark includes a 6-0 record when playing in Huff Hall and 2-0 mark when playing on national television.
- The Illinois volleyball program is now 111-94 all-time playing a televised match, including a 13-13 record in ESPN-affiliated contests.
- Attendance Wednesday night was called at 1,815.
