Illinois Hammers Rutgers Behind Jacqueline Quade Resurgence

Match Stats

• Illinois def. Rutgers 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-17)
• Illinois moves to 17-13 (10-9 Big Ten); Turgers falls to 4-28 (0-19 Big Ten)
• College Avenue Gym, Piscataway, New Jersey
• Attendance: 182

There was little that Illinois could do against winless-in-the-Big-Ten, and RPI #201, Rutgers on Friday to cement their qualifications for the NCAA Tournament. The Illini did do all that there was to do and handled their business on the road with a straight-set win, ceding only 40 points to the woeful Scarlet Knights.

The Illini hit .430 on the game, and only allowed Rutgers to hit .077. Illinois was dominant in every phase of play, out-killing Rutgers 41-28, out-acing Rutgers 7-1, out-blocking Rutgers 9-2, and out-digging Rutgers 35-25.

For Illinois, Jacqueline Quade had 11 kills on 19 swings for a .474 average. As she’s gone, so too has the Illini’s season. Early in the year, when Illinois was a top 25 team, Quade had double-digit kills in 12 of the team’s first 15 games. In the 15 games since, however, she’s only hit the double-digit plateau 3 times, including a stretch where she averaged just over 5 kills/game in a run of 6-straight losses.

Friday’s performance was Quade’s fourth time this season hitting b etter than .400 with dounble-digit kills and her first since the middle of September.

If this rebound is a sign of a resurgence for the freshman Quade, albeit against inferior competition, it would be a positive bounce for Illinois heading into an expected NCAA tournament bid.

Ali Bastianelli chipped in 6 kills (1e, 10ta, .500) and 5 blocks for the Illini. Rutgers was led by Lauren Cloyd, who had 11 (4e, 25ta, .280) of the team’s 28 total kills offensively.

Illinois will finish the season on Saturday against Penn State, while Rutgers will welcome in Northwestern – the second-worst team in the Big Ten this season at 2-17.

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Courtesy Illinois Athletics:

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Illinois volleyball did not waste any time in collecting their third-straight win as the Illini earned a straight-sets victory (25-11. 25-12, 25-17) over Rutgers in just an hour and 15 minutes on Friday (Nov. 25) night in College Ave Gym.

With the win, the Illini improve their overall record to 17-13 and 10-9 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Scarlet Knights drop to 4-28 and 0-19 in the league.

Freshman Jacqueline Quade paced a balanced Illini attack, posting 11 kills on just two errors in 19 swings for a .474 hitting percentage. As a team, the Orange and Blue registered a .430 hitting percentage, with five players recording a hitting percentage of .350 or higher in the win.

Holding onto a one-point lead at 5-4 early in the opening set, the Illini put together an 11-0 run – including 10-straight points, four of which were aces, on the serve of sophomore Ali Bastianelli – to take a 16-4 edge. The Illini then sailed to a 1-0 advantage in the match as back-to-back Quade kills finished the opening set in favor of the Illini, 25-11.

The Illini continued their hot start in the second with the first three points of the set, but the Scarlet Knights fought back to close within 8-7. Leading by three at 13-10, the Illini again put the set out of reach with a 12-2 run, including another four-straight points served by Bastianelli, before a solo block from senior Katie Stadick closed the stanza out at 25-12.

Following a back-and-forth start to the third, the Illini strung together four-straight points to build an 11-6 advantage. Continuing to lead at 17-10, Rutgers closed within 17-13 with three-straight scores, but the Illini responded by taking the next four of five points for a 21-14 lead. The Illini then sealed the three-straight win with a Quade kill, followed by a block from Stadick and senior Naya Crittenden.

Senior Katie Stadick came within one kill of double figures with nine on the night and only one error in 13 swings for a match-high .615 hitting percentage.

For the 23rd time this season, the Illini outblocked their opponent, nine to two, and held RU to a .077 hitting percentage. Bastianelli led the way with five stuffs on the night, while sophomore Jordyn Poulter added four blocks to go with her team-high 37 assists.

The Illini totaled seven aces on the night, with Bastianelli equaling a career-high with four against the Scarlet Knights.

Defensively, junior Brandi Donnelly collected 11 digs.

Illinois will next head to University Park, Pa., for its regular season finale against Penn State in Rec Gym on Saturday (Nov. 25) night at 7 p.m. CT.

Courtesy Rutgers Athletics:

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Rutgers women’s volleyball team dropped its second meeting of the season with Illinois in three sets on Friday at the College Ave Gym. The Fighting Illini (17-13, 10-9 Big Ten) topped the Scarlet Knights (4-28, 0-19 Big Ten) by scores of 25-11, 25-12, and 25-17.

Senior Lauren Cloyd led Rutgers with 11 kills, marking the sixth time in the last seven games the right side has paced the team. Freshman setter Megan Sharkey posted 20 assists in the match.

Illinois was led by Jaqueline Quade with 11 kills to go with a .474 hitting percentage. Ali Bastianelli posted four aces and five blocks in the win.

The Fighting Illini quickly took hold of the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Scarlet Knights recovered in the second set as a Jillian Duffin kill followed by an Illinois error brought Rutgers within one at 6-5. RU kept it close as a kill for Jasmine Stackhouse held the deficit at 8-7. From there, the Scarlet Knights would allow the lead to grow to no more than three. However, with RU trailing 13-10, UI found a groove to run away with the set for a 2-0 edge in the match.

Rutgers opened the third set with a 3-1 advantage before Illinois tied it up 4-4. Although the Fighting Illini reclaimed a lead, the Scarlet Knights kept the margin within three at 9-6. A 6-2 run for Illinois followed to extend its advantage to 15-8 its largest gap at that point of the set. Rutgers countered with a 5-2 run of its own to pull back within four at 17-13. However, the RU rally fell short as that was as close as the Scarlet Knights would come.

UP NEXT
Rutgers concludes the season with Senior Knight on Saturday, Nov. 26 against Northwestern. First serve is set for 7 pm at the College Ave Gym. The Scarlet Knights’ three graduating seniors – Lauren Cloyd, Cole Trimble, and Mikaela Matthews – will be honored in a pre-match ceremony.