CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– Illinois volleyball dropped an intense five-set battle with No. 9 Minnesota at Huff Hall on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Fighting Illini dropped to 11-13 overall and 6-8 in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers improved to 15-7 this season and 10-4 against conference opponents.
Minnesota took an early 8-2 lead over Illinois thanks to a six-point run by the Gophers. The Illini used a timeout following a 3-0 rally for the Gophers that put the Orange and Blue behind by seven. Minnesota continued to build on its lead, and the Illini burned their final timeout trailing 21-13. The Gophers closed out the set scoring back-to-back points, handing the Fighting Illini the 25-15 setback in the opening frame.
Looking to rebound in the second set, the Illini held the 10-5 edge following a 3-0 run that began with a block by Jessica Nunge and Rylee Hinton. Three-straight Illinois attack errors put the Gophers behind by just a point, 11-10, but a 5-1 turn favored the Illini and resulted in Minnesota needing a timeout. Back-to-back Brooke Mosher kills extended the 18-11 advantage out of the break. The Gophers burned their final timeout after tallying a pair of attack errors with the Orange and Blue ahead 22-15. Illinois closed out the set on a 3-0 run with a block by Kennedy Collins and Mosher sealing the 25-16 triumph in the second stanza.
The team's battled back-and-forth to start the third frame but at the media timeout, the Illini trailed by three. Minnesota built on its advantage late in the set, and Illinois looked to stall the Gopher offense, using a timeout while behind 21-16. Despite Nunge hammering home a kill following the break, the deficit proved to be too much to overcome as Illinois fell 25-19.
The Gophers maintained their momentum heading into the fourth set, posting back-to-back aces during an early 4-0 streak to take the early 6-2 lead. Raina Terry helped the Fighting Illini knot the set at eight apiece, posting three kills during a 4-0 streak for Illinois. Minnesota built up a 15-11 advantage, leading to an Illinois timeout before a rally with Diana Brown behind the service line tied the frame at 15 each. The Golden Gophers extended their advantage to 20-16 following a 3-0 run. But a 6-0 swing followed for the Illini, giving Illinois the 22-20 edge. Minnesota tied the set at 23 but the Fighting Illini rallied to score back-to-back points, closing out the 25-23 fourth set victory.
Coming down to a decisive fifth set, a back-and-forth battle ensued with neither team jumping ahead more than a pair. An attack error by the Gophers gave the Fighting Illini the 8-7 edge as team's switched sides. A 3-0 turn for the Gopher's left the Illini behind 13-11 but Terry's 20th kill of the match snapped the streak. Despite Terry fending off match point with a kill, Minnesota came away with the 15-13 win in the fifth set, handing the Illini the heartbreaking loss at home.
Terry tallied her 1,000th career kill during the loss to the Gophers. She ended the day with a double-double, the 14th of her career, as she recorded 11 digs to go along with 21 kills. The match also marked the 10th 20-kill outing of her career.
Brown also notched a double-double in the match, her 50th during the time in the Orange and Blue. The setter logged 18 digs and dished out 53 assists. Caroline Barnes' first career double-double featured 15 digs and 10 assists.
Mosher recorded 21 kills for the match, marking the seventh time the Waterloo, Wis., native amassed double-digit kills during her redshirt freshman campaign. The performance also marked the second time this season Mosher posted a 21-kill outing.
Nunge made her return as a six-rotation player, starting all but the opening set. The outside hitter tallied 13 kills and was a dig shy of a double-double.
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 sixth time of the season and are now 3-3 when wearing those.
Illinois dropped to 1-11 against ranked opponents in 2022.
The match marked the first time the Illini have taken a set from the Gophers since falling in a five-set thriller in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 12, 2021.
Attendance was called at 3,077.
