CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois volleyball took down Ohio State in a thrilling five-set match at Huff Hall on Wednesday night.
With the triumph, the Fighting Illini moved to 15-12 this year with a 10-7 record in conference play. The Buckeyes dropped to 10-16 this season with a 7-10 league mark.
As a team, Illinois recorded 66 kills while hitting .291 in the match. The Illini's 12 aces tied a season best for squad, a record set at Ohio State earlier this year.
Three Illini players tallied double-digit kills with Raina Terry pacing the squad with 27, just one shy of tying her career best. Jessica Nunge finished with 13 kills, and Kayla Burbage added 11 of her own. Brooke Mosher recorded her 15th career double-double when she dished out 50 assists and tallied 16 digs. She also led the way with seven aces. Defensively, Caroline Barnes registered a team-high 21 digs, and Cari Bohm added five blocks.
How it happened
The Fighting Illini went back-and-forth with the Buckeyes in the beginning of the match, with OSU holding the 15-14 edge at the media break. A 4-0 run, including an ace from Mosher, helped the Illini gain the 18-15 advantage and led to a timeout from the opposition. The setter added back-to-back strikes from the service line following the timeout, giving the Illini the 20-15 lead late in the set. An attack error by the Buckeyes gave Illinois set point before Terry and Kennedy Collins stuffed the Ohio State attacker to close out the first set, 25-18.
Nunge sparked a 4-0 run with a kill, helping Illinois gain the 12-9 advantage and led to Ohio State's first timeout of the second frame. The Buckeyes did not go away quietly, tying the set at 12 apiece before Terry sent a kill to the back corner to end the OSU rally. The teams continued to battle, with the Orange and Blue taking a timeout with the set leveled at 21. Kills from Terry and Nunge helped Illinois reach set point, but the Buckeyes closed out the frame on a 3-0 run to take the set, 26-24.
Ohio State held the momentum in the third set, taking an early 7-1 lead before Illinois used a timeout. The Illini deficit grew to nine points before a four-point turn with Nunge behind the service line helped the team within five scores. The Orange and Blue burned its final timeout trailing, 17-9, looking to stop the Ohio State rally. Illinois chipped away at the Buckeye advantage, with the opposition using a timeout as the Fighting Illini were trailing, 22-18. However, the late rally was not enough, as the Orange and Blue dropped the set, 25-20.
After taking an 11-8 lead in the fourth set, OSU posted a run of its own, knotting the set at 11 apiece. Back-to-back kills for Nunge helped Illinois gain the 14-11 edge before the Buckeyes burned a timeout. The Illini built on their advantage, holding a 20-13 edge with Mosher behind the service line. Four straight for Ohio State cut into the Fighting Illini lead, resulting in a timeout with the Orange and Blue clinging to the 21-17 edge. Back-to-back kills from Burbage helped Illinois reach set point before Terry's 24th kill of the match gave the Illini the 25-19 win in the fourth frame.
Mosher started the decisive set with three straight aces for the Orange and Blue. Kills from Terry and Collins helped Illinois gain the 6-3 edge before the Buckeyes used their first break of the frame. A 5-0 run sparked by a Terry kill down the line helped Illinois take an 12-5 lead late in the set. An off-speed shot by Nunge gave Illinois match point before Mosher put the ball away, sealing the 15-6 triumph in the fifth set.
Up Next
In their final home match of the season, the Illini host Michigan on Saturday night. First serve from Huff Hall on B1G+ is slated for 6 p.m.
Notes
- Starters: Brooke Mosher, Raina Terry, Kayla Burbage, Kennedy Collins, Jessica Nunge, Cari Bohm and Caroline Barnes
    - Illinois moved to 3-0 with this lineup.
- The Illini wore sleeveless white jerseys, moving to 8-1 while donning those.
- The Illinois volleyball program moved to 46-46 against Ohio State all time.
- In five-set matches, the Illini are 5-3.
- Head coach Chris Tamas owns a 6-5 record against the Buckeyes.
- Terry tallied three aces, bringing her total to 160 in her career, ranking fourth all-time in the Illini records.
    - The Ohio native started the match with four kills and an ace, accounting for the team's first five points.
- In the first set, Illinois posted a .619 hitting percentage, adding 13 kills on 21 attacks without an error.
- The second set included 13 ties and five lead changes.
- Terry amassed 27 kills, the 20th time in her career she hit the 20-kill mark.
- Mosher tallied a career-best seven aces and 50 assists in the match.
- Barnes added double-digit digs for the 15th time this year, totaling 21 in the match.
    - The contest marked the sixth time the libero surpassed 20 digs.
- Attendance on Wednesday night was called at 2,344.
