IOWA CITY, Iowa – Illinois volleyball took down Iowa in a four-set match at Xtreme Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Fighting Illini moved to 14-6 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes fell to 9-13 and 3-7 in league action.
The Orange and Blue amassed 60 kills while hitting .260 for the match. Raina Terry paced the Illini with 18 kills. Her 22.5 points in the match gave her 2,311.5 for her career, a new record for the program. The Ohio native also became the third Big Ten player to achieve 200 aces in the rally scoring era.
Defensively, the team posted 62 digs with Christina Martinez Mundo recording 20. Terry (12), Lily Barry (10), and Brooke Mosher (10) tallied double-digit digs. Mosher also added 36 assists for a double-double. Illinois logged 10 blocks as a squad with Ashlyn Philpot notching six roofs. Terry and Cari Bohm also impressed with five blocks each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois jumped ahead 12-7 early following a five-point turn with Raegen Reilly behind the service line. Following a timeout by the opposition, the Illini continued to dominate with a 3-0 rally helping Illinois gain an eight-point advantage, 19-11. Iowa scored four-straight to creep within four, but a Laynie Smith kill put away the set 25-21.
In the second frame, both teams battled back-and-forth with the Orange and Blue holding the slight 15-14 edge at the media break. A kill by Smith followed by a block by Terry and Bohm, put Illinois ahead by three, 19-16, with the Hawkeyes calling a timeout. The break did not stop the Orange and Blue offense and Philpot put away the set, 25-21 with a kill.
Illinois and Iowa battled point-for-point with an ace from Martinez Mundo knotting the frame at 12 apiece. The Illini held the one-point edge at the media timeout with Terry tallying her 200th career ace following the break. A roof from freshmen Smith and Philpot helped Illinois gain the 22-18 advantage, forcing the Hawkeyes to burn a timeout.
Philpot helped the Illini reach match point with a kill, but Iowa made a late push, scoring four straight to lock the set at 24. The momentum favored Iowa in extra points, with the Hawkeyes stealing the set from the Illini, 27-25.
The Orange and Blue scored the first five points, leading to an Iowa timeout. The Illini kept the momentum out of the break, posting a 4-0 run with Mosher serving to hold the 15-7 edge. The team dominated down the stretch with Terry's second ace of the day helping the team to match point before an Iowa service error clinched the 25-13 win and the four-set triumph.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini face Northwestern on Friday in Evanston, Ill. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. on B1G+.
NOTES:
- Starters: Raina Terry, Brooke Mosher, Averie Hernandez, Cari Bohm, Ashlyn Philpot, Laynie Smith, and Christina Martinez Mundo.
- The Illini wore long-sleeved orange jerseys, moving to 3-2 while donning those.
- The Illinois volleyball program is now 72-14 against Iowa.
- Chris Tamas moved to 13-0 all-time against the Iowa.
- The match was the 11th time this season the Illini posted double-digit roofs.
- Terry earned her 200th ace, becoming the third Big Ten player to achieve the mark in the rally scoring era.
- The 18 kill and 12 dig double-double was the sixth of the season and 23rd of Terry's career.
- Mosher's 36 assists and 10 digs gave her the 20th double-double of her career and fifth of the year.
- Martinez Mundo posted the 36th 20-plus dig match of her career.
 - Attendance was called at 1,077.
