EAST LANSING, MICH. – Illinois volleyball topped Michigan State at the Breslin Center, sweeping the Spartans on Friday night.
The triumph over MSU moved the Fighting Illini to 12-13 overall and 7-8 in Big Ten play. The Spartans dropped to 10-16 this year and 1-14 in conference action.
The Illini battled back-and-forth with the Spartans to start the match, with neither team jumping out by more than a pair. The teams saw 19 ties and 7 lead changes during the frame, but Rylee Hinton amassed back-to-back kills to put away the 25-23 triumph in the opening set.
The Fighting Illini took an early 7-4 lead, capped off by a kill from Raina Terry. However, a 5-0 turn favored MSU, leading to an Illinois timeout trailing 13-8. Michigan State recorded another rally to hold the 16-9 edge. The Orange and Blue did not go away quietly, posting a 4-0 run to creep within three. Three-straight by the Illini including an ace by Diana Brown put the Illini behind 21-20, resulting in a Michigan State timeout. Illinois added a pair following the break to hold the one-point advantage, Terry gave the Illini set point and an attack error by MSU closed out a 15-5 run for Illinois and the 25-23 victory in the second stanza.
Holding all the momentum, the Fighting Illini took an early 7-3 lead after Brooke Mosher recorded back-to-back service aces. An MSU 6-0 rally took away the Illini's edge, leaving the Orange and Blue down 13-11 before using a timeout. Three-straight for the Orange and Blue quickly gave the squad the 15-13 edge, leading to a timeout by the opposition. The Illini continued to build on its advantage and despite Michigan State fending off four match points, Illinois walked away with the 25-22 victory in the final set.
Mosher and Terry led the way, posting 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Brown tallied 32 assists to pace the squad.
Defensively, Kennedy Collins, Hinton and Mosher recorded. five blocks apiece. Caroline Barnes led the way with 13 digs during the triumph over MSU.
Jessica Nunge cracked the starting lineup for the first time since the Illini's match at Marquette on Sept. 17.
The Illini remain on the road for a match against RV Michigan on Saturday night. First serve on B1G+ is slated for 6 p.m.
Notes:
Starters: Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Diana Brown, Caroline Barnes, Jessica Nunge, Raina Terry and Brooke Mosher
The Illini wore long sleeved blue jerseys for the seventh time this season and are now 4-3 when wearing those.
The sweep makes the seventh of the season for the Illini squad. This includes three against conference opponents.
The Illini improved to 54-28 all-time against Michigan State including a 25-14 record on the road.
