CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois returned to winning ways in a five-set thriller against Michigan State on Sunday afternoon. The Fighting Illini, now 3-1 in Big Ten play, have won their last three contests at Huff Hall heading into the team's four-match road trip.
Closing the fifth frame on an 11-1 run, the Orange and Blue remained perfect in five-set matches this season.Â
Kenna Phelan, posting 50+ assists for the first time in her career, finished with a career-most 57 helpers while also tallying nine digs, three total blocks, two solo stuffs, and two kills.Â
Alyssa Aguayo secured her sixth double-double of the season with her career-high 18 kills and 10 digs. Posting double-digit kills for the 10th time and 10+ digs for the seventh outing this season, she hit .324 while also adding two blocks, two aces, and two assists.
Taylor de Boer equaled her career-best offensive output with 18 kills on her team-high 41 swings. With her .366 hitting percentage, she also made one block.
Ashlyn Philpot recorded 13 kills while swinging at a .611 clip. She also totaled a career-high two aces, along with a career-most six digs and three blocks.
Kayla Burbage collected a season-most 11 kills with a .476 hitting percentage. She also equaled her season-best with six blocks, including a solo stuff, while tacking on three digs.
Defensively, Taryn Kirsch ended the afternoon with 19 digs in addition to her five assists, while Averie Hernandez amassed 12 digs, a kill, and an ace. Kenzie Cogan notched eight digs and a career-most three aces.
Auburn Tomkinson filled the stat sheet with eight kills, five blocks, and a dig.
The sides traded points early and were ultimately knotted at 10, but a 3-1 run propelled the Illini in front, 13-11. The Spartans scored five of the next six points to establish a two-point edge, though Illinois responded by tying the frame at 20. The Orange and Blue claimed a brief edge, 21-20, but the visitors scored five of the final six points to take the opening set, 25-22.
With the second frame tied at 9-9, the Illini began a 3-0 run to go ahead by three, though a 5-1 Michigan State run saw the away side take a brief one-point advantage. Neither side led by more than one for the majority of the set, and the frame was eventually even at 24. A kill from Aguayo and an error from Michigan State saw the Illini take the back-and-forth set, 26-24.
Illinois set the tone early in the third frame, winning the first four points, though the Spartans battled back to even the set at 7-7. The Illini then orchestrated a 6-0 scoring stretch, fueled by kills from four different players. The Orange and Blue led the rest of the way, ultimately winning the frame by a 25-18 margin.
After a back-and-forth start to the fourth set, the Illini used a 5-1 stretch to secure a 12-9 edge. The Spartans once again answered with a run of their own to level the frame at 15. Trading points the rest of the way, the home side was unable to convert on a match point before fending off two set points shortly after. With the score even at 26, MSU tallied the final two points of the frame to force a fifth set.
In the final frame, with the score tied at 4-4, the Illini posted an 8-0 run with Vivian Campbell at the service line, forcing the Spartans to use both of their timeouts to limit the Illini damage. Though Michigan State was able to briefly end the scoring run, Illinois won the final three points en route to the five-set victory.
NOTES
- Kenna Phelan finished with a career-most 57 helpers while also tallying nine digs, three total blocks, two solo stuffs, and two kills.Â
- Phelan's 57 assists are the most by an Illini since Sept. 6, 2019, when Diana Brown also had 57 in a five-set loss to Washington.
- Posted 50+ assists for the first time in her career.
- Totaled two solo blocks, the first two of her career.
- Had at least three blocks for the third time this season and for the first time against a Big Ten opponent.
- Has at least nine digs in six outings this season.
- Has 9+ digs in two of the last three matches.
- Had multiple kills for the eighth time this season.
- Taylor de Boer equaled her career-best offensive output with 18 kills on her team-high 41 swings while hitting at a .366 clip and making one block.
- Had double-digit kills for the 11th time this season.
- Has 10+ kills in all four Big Ten matches and in six of her last seven appearances overall.Â
- Has a block in seven of the last eight matches and in nine matches overall.
- Has 40+ attempts in two of the last three matches and in four outings total this season.
- Alyssa Aguayo secured her sixth double-double of the season with her career-high 18 kills and 10 digs while also adding two blocks, two aces, and two assists.
- Has 10+ kills in 10 of her 13 career collegiate matches.
- Has double-digit kills in four of the last five matches.
- Has 10+ kills in three of her first four career Big Ten appearances.Â
- Had double-digit digs for the seventh time this season.Â
- Has at least five digs in seven straight matches.
- Made multiple blocks for the sixth time.
- Totaled multiple aces for the third time this season.
- Ashlyn Philpot recorded 13 kills while swinging at a .611 clip and totaling a career-high two aces, along with six digs and three blocks.
- Has 10+ kills in three matches this season.
- Has 10+ kills in eight matches during her collegiate career.
- Has at least three blocks in each of her last three outings and in 10 appearances this season.
- Has multiple stuffs in all but one match this season.
- Registered the first two aces of her collegiate career.
- Set a new season-best hitting percentage.
- Has now hit at at least a .600 clip twice this season.
- Her six digs marked a new career-best output.
- Has multiple digs in three matches this season.
- Kayla Burbage collected a season-most 11 kills with a .476 hitting percentage, along with six blocks, including a solo stuff, and three digs.
- Set a new season-best with 11 kills.
- Had 10+ kills for the first time since also recording 11 against Ohio State on Nov. 15, 2023.
- Equaled her season-best effort with six total blocks.
- Has at least three blocks in each of the last eight matches.
- Has at least three blocks in 10 outings this season.
- Has multiple blocks in 10 straight matches and in 12 appearances overall.
- Posted her fourth solo block of the season.
- Made multiple digs for the eighth time this year.
- Auburn Tomkinson filled the stat sheet with eight kills, five blocks, and a dig.
- Finished with at least eight kills for the ninth time this season.
- Has at least seven kills in six consecutive outings.
- Equaled her career-high with five total blocks.
- Has 3+ blocks in five straight appearances.
- Made multiple blocks for the 12th time this season.
- Taryn Kirsch ended the afternoon with 19 digs in addition to her five assists.
- Finished with double-digit digs for the sixth time.
- Has 10+ digs in two of the last three matches.
- Averie Hernandez amassed 12 digs, a kill, and an ace.
- Equaled her season-high with 12 digs.
- Collected double-digit digs for the fourth time this season.
- Kenzie Cogan notched eight digs and a career-most three aces.
- Made her first career start.
- Now has at least eight digs in back-to-back matches.
- Set a new career-high with her team-high three aces.
- Entered the day with one career ace.
- Illinois registered a season-most 71 kills against the Spartans.
- The Illini's 71 kills are their most since also posting 71 against #7 Kentucky in the NCAA tournament on Dec. 4, 2021.
- The Illini's 71 kills are their most in a Big Ten match since totaling 71 at #5 Minnesota on March 12, 2021.
- The Illini's 71 kills are their most at Huff Hall since recording 71 against #7 Penn State in a five-set win on Nov. 10, 2018.
- The Illini finished with a .335 hitting percentage, the fourth time this season hitting at least .300.
- Illinois is 3-1 in those four matches when hitting at least .300.
- Illinois' 69 digs marked a new season-best output.
- The Illini's 69 digs are their most since amassing 70 at Western Kentucky on Sept. 14, 2024.
- Head coach Chris Tamas moved to 157-99 overall during his time at the helm of the Illini.
- The Illini moved to 58-28 all-time against Michigan State.
- UI holds a 29-9 record in home matches against the Spartans.
- Illinois has now won its last nine meetings against Michigan State.
- Illinois is now 2-0 in three-set matches this season.
- Illinois is now 3-1 at Huff Hall this season.
- The Illini moved to 1-0 when wearing pink jerseys.
UP NEXT
Illinois (8-5, 3-1 B1G) begins a four-match road swing on the East Coast next week, playing Maryland on Friday night and Rutgers on Saturday night away from home. Both contests are slated for 6 p.m. CT on B1G+.
