AMES, Iowa – Brooke Mosher recorded Illinois volleyball's first triple-double since 1998 as the Fighting Illini topped Wake Forest in a five-set thriller at Hilton Coliseum in the Cyclone Invitational finale.
The Fighting Illini improved to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in five-set matches. Wake Forest fell to 3-3 with the loss.
Mosher tallied 32 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs en route to her first-career triple-double. Raina Terry amassed an impressive 20 kills to pace the Illini. Defensively, Ashlyn Philpot recorded five blocks and Caroline Barnes notched 17 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois went back and forth with Wake Forest to open the match, but a 5-0 scoring run with Averie Hernandez serving helped the Illini gain the 8-6 advantage and led to a Wake Forest timeout. The Illini added three out of the break to build upon the five-point edge. The Deamon Deacons cut into the Illini's advantage, resulting in a timeout with the Orange and Blue clinging to the 17-14 lead. The team bounced back out of the break, taking the opening frame, 25-17.
The Illini fell behind early, trailing 14-9 before using a timeout. Out of the break, the Orange and Blue tacked on three-straight points, including an ace from Terry, leaving the Demon Deacons in need of a timeout with the Illinois deficit cut to a pair. Late in the set, back-to-back kills by Laynie Smith knotted the frame at 20 apiece, but it was not enough as the Fighting Illini dropped the set, 25-22.
Illinois held all the momentum following a kill by Christina Martinez Mundo that put the Orange and Blue ahead, 12-9. Back-to-back Illini scores, including a kill from Mosher, led to Wake Forest burning its final timeout of the set. An ace from Mosher extended the advantage to eight as the frame continued in favor of the Fighting Illini, but the opposition did not go away quietly as the Orange and Blue called for a timeout with the slight 19-17 edge. Illinois continued to battle, and an attack error by Wake Forest sealed the 25-21 triumph in the third frame.
The Illini looked flat early in the set, trailing 8-1 in the fourth. The team chipped away at the deficit, down 11-9 when Wake Forest looked for some relief. The Demon Deacons charged back out of the break, but Illinois crept within one, 17-16, late in the set following a 5-0 run with Hernandez serving. However, a point was the closest the Illini came to taking the lead, and the team fell, 25-20.
In the final set, three-straight kills for the Illini gave the team the 8-5 edge when it came time to switch sides. Terry tallied her second ace of the match, extending the 10-5 advantage before the Demon Deacons used a timeout. The Fighting Illini closed out the triumph on a 4-0 run, taking the set, 15-8, and the match.
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue hit the road for a tournament at WKU. The Fighting Illini face #22 Dayton in the opener on Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
NOTES:
- Starters: Raina Terry, Brooke Mosher, Averie Hernandez, Cari Bohm, Ashlyn Philpot, Laynie Smith, and Caroline Barnes.
- The Illini wore long-sleeved orange jerseys for the first time this season.
- The Illinois volleyball program is now 2-0 all-time against Wake Forest.
- Terry tallied her second-straight 20-kill match, the 22nd of her career.
- Terry owns 178 career aces, placing the graduate student tied for second all-time.
- Terry's 1,730 career kills currently rank the outside hitter in fifth place all-time.
- The triple-double for Mosher was the first of her career.
- The last Illini triple double was in 1998.
- Chris Tamas moved to 1-0 all-time against the Demon Deacons.
- Terry, Philpot and Mosher were named to the all-tournament team, with Terry earning MVP honors.
- Attendance was called at 80.
