Match Stats Illinois defeats St. Mary’s College 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-18) Illinois moves to 4-4, Saint Mary’s moves to 5-3... CurrentPhoto via Illinois Athletics
EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 21 Fighting Illini volleyball team wrapped up play in the Nike Invitational in dominating fashion as the Orange & Blue secured a 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-18) sweep of Saint Mary’s on Saturday(Sept. 10) at Matthew Knight Arena.
Senior middle blocker Katie Stadick registered a match-high 11 kills on 15 swings and just on error for a .667 hitting percentage as well as six block assists. Classmate Michelle Strizakjoined her in double figures with 10 kills on the night.
Back-to-back Illini blocks started things off as UI jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set. UI pushed the score to 10-3 with five-straight points, including three-straight Strizak scores. The Illini then cruised from there as a Donnelly ace made it 20-10 in favor of Illinois, before a 6-0 run finished the set, with four points coming off the serve of freshman Annika Gereau.
The second set proved to be the most competitive, as it saw six ties and three lead changes. SMC recorded the first two points of the second set, but a 6-1 Illini run gave the visitors a 6-3 lead on a kill from freshman Jacqueline Quade. The frame entered an 10-10 tie midway through, but the Illini grabbed control with six of the next seven points to build a 16-11 advantage. Back-to-back Gael points closed the gap to 16-13, but that would be as close as SMC would get as the Illini pushed their lead back out to 22-15 on a SMC service error and sailed to the 25-18 set win.
After an early 2-2 tie in the third, the Illini raced out to a 9-3 edge on the strength of its block and three Stadick kills. SMC continued to fight though and tallied the next four of five scores to cut the lead to 10-7. UI then responded rattling off five-straight points, including the final four coming of the serve of senior Danielle Davis, to build a 14-7 advantage. Another Stadick slam then pushed the lead out further at 17-10 as the Illini looked to close out the set. Trailed 21-12, the Gaels notched four-straight scores, but it would not be enough as UI cruised to the straight-set victory.
Sophomore setter Jordyn Poulter quarterbacked the Illini offense with 27 assists and led her team to a .302 hitting percentage – highlighted by hitting percentages over .400 in both the first and third sets. She also added eight digs, six block assists, five kills and a .571 hitting percentage in the win.
Junior Brandi Donnelly totaled 12 digs in the match. Once again, the Illini outblocked their opponent, 14-7, with sophomore Ali Bastianelli turning in a team-high seven block assists.
Illinois next concludes nonconference tournament action next weekend at the Billiken Invitational, hosted by Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Mo., on Sept. 16-17. The Illini will face Omaha at 4:30 p.m.on Friday, before taking on Murray State at 10 a.m.on Saturday and the host Billikens at 7 p.m. later that night.
Courtesy: Saint Mary’s College Athletics:
EUGENE, Ore. — Well-performed hitting and a solid block at the net Saturday lifted No. 21-ranked Illinois to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-18) sweep over the Saint Mary’s volleyball team in the Nike Invitational at Matthews Arena on the campus of the University of Oregon.
No. 21 Illinois (4-4) hit .302 in the match and recorded 14.0 total team blocks en route to the victory. Four Illini had at least five kills and five had at least three blocks. Saint Mary’s (5-3) hit just .063 with seven unforced attack errors coupled with the 14 blocks to total 21 attack errors.
Sarah Chase led the Gaels with nine kills and six digs. Lindsey Calvin had eight kills and three blocks, while Lindsey Knudsen recorded five kills and five digs. SMC had seven total blocks, led by Alex O’Sullivan’s four.
The Illini never trailed in the first set and only trailed 1-0 in the third set before taking control. The second set was the closest, as Saint Mary’s looked to even the match at 1-1. The Gaels trailed 7-4, but went on a 5-1 run with kills from Aubrey Pitts and Chase to take a 9-8 lead.
The two teams traded points back and forth before being tied at 10-10. But Illinois reasserted itself and went on an 11-4 run to go ahead 21-14 on its way to a 25-18 set victory.
The Gaels complete competition at the Nike Invitational at noon Sunday when they face host Oregon. The match will be streamed live online. Fans can find coverage links on the Volleyball Gameday Page at SMCGaels.com.
Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of VolleyMob.com.
Braden's first foray into sports journalism came in 2010, when he launched a swimming website called The Swimmers' Circle. Two years later, he joined SwimSwam.com as a co-founder.
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