DAYTON, Ohio. – No. 25 Illinois earned a 3-0 sweep over Villanova, its first sweep of the season, at the Frericks Center on Saturday. The Illini's second match in the Dayton Invitational saw just four ties and one lead change, as the Orange and Blue was in control from start to finish.
Illinois claimed the first set 25-16 and never looked back in the contest. After jumping out ot 3-0 lead, Caroline Barnes turned in back-to-back aces followed by a kill from Kayla Burbage to cap a 6-0 run to start the match. The Illini would lead by as much as 10 in the set, with a stout defense holding the Wildcats to a .077 hitting percentage in the opener. Jessica Nunge and Burbage led the attack with four kills each with Diana Brown providing 15 helpers.
The second set began with Illinois taking a 10-5 lead, which forced Villanova to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Illini would go on a 6-1 run, sparked by three service aces from Brown, to widen the margin to 16-6 to force another timeout. Illinois would close out the set on a 9-3 run, to win the frame 25-16, with Burbage tallying three kills during that span. Terry posted a set-high four kills and Rylee Hinton led the way defensively with two solo blocks and five block assists, which helped to hold the Wildcats to a -.300 swing percentage in the set.
The Illini found themselves trailing 7-3 to begin the third set before going on a 6-2 run to bring the set all square at 9-9, with Hinton turning in two kills. The set would be tied up again at 10-10, where Illinois would go on a 3-0 run that featured kills from Kerry and Burbage to force Villanova into a timeout. The Illini came out of the stoppage on a 4-0 run to push the lead to 17-10 thanks to kills from Terry and Kyla Swanson. Illinois would go on to win the set 25-16 to claim their first sweep of the season.
Terry, the Marengo, Ohio, natvie, led the way with 12 kills, with Burbage posting eight and Nunge collecting seven. Illinois operated at a .403 hitting clip on the match, a season high. It was also the fist time the Illini posted a hitting percentage over .400 since Oct. 12, 2019, vs. Indiana.
Brown, the Columbus, Ohio, native, distributed a match-high 30 assists and added five digs, while Caroline Barnes led the Illini with eight digs.
Illinois held Villanova to a -.030 swing percentage overall, a season low. It was also the first time since Oct. 12, 2019, vs. Indiana that the Illini held an opponent to a negative swing clip.
The Illini are back in action tonight with a matchup against host Dayton at 6 p.m. CT.
Notes:
- Starters: Rylee Hinton, Diana Brown, Kyla Swanson, Kayla Burbage, Raina Terry, Becca Sakoda and Caroline Barnes.
- Becca Sakoda made the first start of her career.
- The Illini wore long sleeve white jerseys for the second time this season and are now 1-1 when wearing those.
- Illinois won the first ever meeting by these two programs and is now 1-0 in the all-time series.
