MILWAUKEE, Wis. – For the second time of the day – and season – No. 25 Illinois volleyball would need all five sets for a decision as No. 19 Marquette defended the Al McGuire Center and outlasted the Orange and Blue on Saturday. Three Illini would record double-digit kills in Kennedy Collins (15), Raina Terry (15) and Jessica Nunge (12) while Caroline Barnes (13), Brooke Mosher (12) and Diana Brown (11) each turned in double-digit digs.
Diana Brown recorded her second double-double outing of the day, fifth of the season and 45th of her career with 45 assists and 11 digs. Brown facilitated the Illini to a .241 hitting clip in the match.
Illinois struck first in the match as Terry found the floor with a kill for a 1-0 lead. That lead would stretch out to a 6-1 advantage forcing an early Marquette timeout. The Fighting Illini pushed that advantage to an 11-4 margin before Marquette posted a 4-0 run to pull within 11-8. From there, the Golden Eagles would knot things at 14-14 before working out to a 19-17 lead down the stretch and force a UI timeout. Three Nunge kills and a Brown ace helped swing the score in favor of the Illini, who would ultimately claim the frame, 25-23.
Marquette battled back in the second frame to even the match at 1-1 but not before the Illini jumped out to another quick lead at 3-0 and 6-3. The Golden Eagles would hit double digits first at 10-9 as part of a 6-0 run that put the hosts up 13-9. Illinois responded right back out of a timeout with a 4-0 run off the serve of Nunge to tie the set at 13-13. Out of a Marquette timeout, the hosts pushed to a 19-15 margin before claiming the set 25-20.
With the match even at 1-1, third-set action began the same way. The benches worked out to a 3-3 mark before Illinois pushed out to a 12-5 lead. Marquette had used its second timeout by the time the scoreboard read 14-6. Illinois pieced together a run that spanned the stoppage and led to a 17-6 lead. The Orange and Blue took a 2-1 lead in the match with the 25-13 third-set win.
Set four saw Marquette take a quick 3-0 lead before Illinois knotted the score at 5-5. The Golden Eagles powered back for a 9-6 lead that extended out to an 11-8 margin. The Illini would trail by as much as 20-13 before pulling with four at 20-16 but MU would pull out the 25-19 set victory to even the match at 2-2.
Marquette struck for the first point in set five and would never trail in the frame. Illinois managed to knot the score on five occasions but never took a lead. The Orange and Blue trailed 8-6 at the switch and would pull within one at 9-8 but would trail from there to a 15-11 fifth-set decision.
The Illini's second five setter of the day featured 17 ties and eight lead changes between the pair of top-25 programs.
Collins operated at a season-best .480 hitting clip while her 15 kills were two shy of a career high.
Illinois struck for nine aces from the service line. Nunge and Terry each tallied three while Brown, Barnes and Mosher all chipped in one.
After playing the entire non-conference schedule away from home, Illinois volleyball is set for a three-match homestand beginning next weekend. The Orange and Blue will host Maryland Friday night before Northwestern comes to town on Saturday. Illinois will head into Big Ten play with a 5-5 overall record.
Notes:
- Starters: Kennedy Collins, Diana Brown, Kyla Swanson, Kayla Burbage, Caroline Barnes, Raina Terry and Becca Sakoda.
- The Illini wore long sleeve orange jerseys for the fifth time of the season and are now 3-2 when wearing those.
- Illinois is now 6-1 all-time against Marquette with Saturday's loss. The last four meetings have featured a ranked Golden Eagles squad.
