The Fighting Illini volleyball team and first-year head coach Chris Tamas took the court for the first time in 2017 for the annual Orange & Blue Scrimmage in front of 1,476 fans with the Blue squad earning a 4-0 (25-17, 25-21, 31-29, 15-8) win in the four-set exhibition on Saturday night (Aug. 19) at Huff Hall.
“Overall, I was very impressed with the play tonight,” said Tamas. “We obviously had some jitters in the beginning, but I told the team we made really nice plays throughout the night and said this is just a starting point for us. We want to keep making improvements as time goes on and if we keep working as hard as we do in the gym every day, we will see some good results at the end of the year. Again, overall very impressed with how we competed and how we played as a group and looking forward to more of that in the future.”
Sophomore Jacqueline Quade led all players with 17 kills on the night, while junior Blayke Hranicka totaled 13 kills on 17 swings for a .706 hitting percentage – including 11 kills and a .714 clip while playing with the Blue team. Freshman Kylie Kuyava-Deberg also reached double figures with 10 kills while playing for the Blue.
Junior Jordyn Poulter paced the Illini with 44 assists and added three blocks and two aces on the night, while defensively, senior Brandi Donnelly collected 14 digs.
Illinois officially opens the 2017 season next weekend at the Montana State Bobcat Classic on August 25-26 in Bozeman, Montana. The Illini will take on Gonzaga and host Montana State on Friday, before facing Air Force on Saturday afternoon.
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Press Release courtesy of Illinois Athletics.
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