NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Illinois volleyball completed the season sweep of Rutgers on Sunday afternoon as the Fighting Illini triumphed over the Scarlet Knights in a four-set match at College Avenue Gym.
The Orange and Blue improved to 11-11 this year and 6-6 in Big Ten play. Rutgers dropped to 7-17 overall and 1-11 in league play.
The Illini battled back-and-forth with the Scarlet Knights to begin the match and a 3-0 run, forced the opposition to burn a timeout with the Orange and Blue holding the 12-10 edge. Rutgers did not go away quietly, posting a 3-0 rally of its own to lock the set up at 16 apiece. While a service error for the Scarlet Knights knotted the set at 20, Rutgers closed out the stanza outscoring Illinois, 5-1, to hand the Illini the 25-21 defeat in the opening frame.
Looking to regroup in the second set, a 4-0 run that included back-to-back blocks by Raina Terry and Rylee Hinton put the Illini ahead 8-4. The Scarlet Knights used a timeout following a 3-0 rally capped off by a kill from Hinton with the Illini ahead 12-5. The Orange and Blue remained in control, with a Kayla Burbage kill giving Illinois the 19-12 advantage late in the stanza. The team closed out the second set victory on a 3-0 run with Terry putting away the 25-18 victory.
With the match evened at a set a piece, Rutgers looked to bounce back as the team outscored Illinois, 4-1., to begin the frame. The teams battled point-for-point, but an 8-0 swing favored the Illini, giving the team the 14-8 edge. Terry built on the advantage at the service line with an ace giving the Illini the 21-11 advantage. The team ended the third set with a 3-0 run, taking down Rutgers 25-12.
In the fourth frame, a service run with Becca Sakoda at the line gave the Illini the early 9-4 advantage. A 3-0 rally that included back-to-back kills from Terry resulted in a Rutgers timeout with the Illini ahead 16-10. Brooke Mosher served up an ace, giving Illinois match point and Terry put away the victory with a kill to help the Orange and Blue claim the fourth set, 25-19 and the match, 3-1.
Three Illini players amassed double-digit kills with Terry leading the way with 19 in the four-set match. Burbage and Mosher added 11 kills apiece.
Defensively, Caroline Barnes led the squad with 16 digs. Hinton dominated at the net, posting a match-high nine blocks.
Jessica Nunge continued to impress from the service line, recording two service aces on Sunday. The senior has posted an ace in each of her four matches since returning to action. Sakoda also made her return to the court, and the sophomore tallied her second ace of the year during the contest.
Diana Brown tallied 46 assists in the match. The setter moved into fifth all-time in the Illini record books, holding 3,972 helpers for her career in the Orange and Blue.
Terry moved up into the top-10 for career aces, tying for 10th place as the junior has served up 118 during her time at Illinois.
Notes:
Starters: Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Diana Brown, Kayla Burbage, Caroline Barnes, Raina Terry and Brooke Mosher
The Illini wore long sleeved blue jerseys for the sixth time of the season and are now 3-3 when wearing those.
Illinois posted its second-best hitting percentage (.350) of the season. The team's 59 kills were the second most amassed during a match and the most recorded during a win during the 2022 campaign.
With Sunday's victory, Illinois now leads Rutgers in the all-time series, 14-1. The Illini have been victorious in all 14 meetings as conference foes.
Attendance was called at 468.
