MATCH STATS
- #19 Wisconsin def. (RV) Illinois, 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20)
- Wisconsin improves to 18-8, 9-8 Big Ten; Illinois falls to 18-10, 9-8 Big Ten
- Champaign, Illinois
- Attendance: 2341
- Box score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – They started slow, but #19 Wisconsin’s middles took over and finished to combine for 28 kills in their four-set win over (RV) Illinois (20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20). The Badger middles also combined to hit .431 and had 6 assist blocks.
The middles in question are Dana Rettke (14 kills, .522) and Tionna Williams (14 kills, .357). Each had 3 assist blocks on the night. Three other Badgers finished with double-digit kills; outside hitter Lauryn Gillis had 13, outside hitter Kelli Bates had 11 and right side Madison Duello had 10. Bates and Gillis completed their respective double-doubles with 14 and 12 digs. Setter Sydney Hilley set the .298 offense by dishing out a career-high 57 assists and adding her 9th career double-double with 10 digs. Libero Tiffany Clark dug a team-high-tying 14 balls.
The Illini were led offensively by Jacqueline Quade with 14 kills on the evening. Beth Prince and Ali Bastianelli finished with 9 kills each, with the latter adding a match-high 6 blocks and hitting .368 against the Badgers. Setter Jordyn Poulter filled the stat sheet for the Fighting Illini with 37 assists, 5 digs, 5 blocks and 4 kills. Brandi Donnelly led all defenders with a match-high 18 digs.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A shaky start was not enough to derail the 12th-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team as it brought down Illinois in four sets. The Badgers won 20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20, at Huff Hall Friday night.
Highlighted by a red-hot duo of middle blockers and three Badgers earning double-doubles, Wisconsin (18-8 overall, 9-8 Big Ten) hit .298 (65 kills – 23 errors – 141 attempts) and held Illinois (18-10, 9-8) to a hitting percentage of .201 (47-20-134).
On offense, Dana Rettke and Tionna Williams earned 14 kills apiece. Three other Badgers also hit double-digit kills, including Lauryn Gillis (13), Kelli Bates (11), and Madison Duello (10).
To go along with their double-digit kills, Bates and Gillis also earned double-digit digs, collecting 14 and 12 ups, respectively. Setter Sydney Hilley also notched a double-double with a career-high 57 assists and 10 digs.
Libero Tiffany Clark added an additional 14 digs, helping UW to a 58-48 advantage in the backcourt.
The Illini earned a 12-7 advantage in blocks. The Badgers were led by Williams, Rettke and Duello, who recorded three stuffs each.
Notable
- Senior Lauryn Gillis earns her first double-double since 2015 and the eighth of her career with 13 kills and 12 digs.
- Gillis also tied her career high with three assists.
- Outside hitter Kelli Bates nabbed a double-double notching 14 digs and 11 kills.
- Freshman Sydney Hilley put up a career-high 57 assists. The 6-0 setter earned her ninth career double-double, adding 10 digs.
- It was the first match of the season with five players in double-figure kills and with three players having a double-double.
Quotable
“Syd’s (Hilley) location was a little bit behind early on, especially on her slides. She was undersetting quite a bit and getting frustrated a little bit but she just stuck with it. Really proud of her. I thought she called a great match. I thought she did a really good job of understanding by rotation what we were trying to do. I thought she put her hitters in really good situations.
“I love the way that we played today. I think that started with a great week of practice. Our offense was balanced and that’s because our passers did a great job of passing. I thought it was a great team effort. It’s hard to find too many things that we just didn’t do well against a really good team, against a great blocking team. I thought we did a lot of positive things tonight.”
-Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
It was over when
The Badgers got off to a slow start in the first set but bounced back in the second to even the match at 1-1. A dominant third set gave UW a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth frame. With the set tied at 15-15, Gillis took over and sent three straight kills to the floor. Her spark helped the Badgers earn a 20-15 lead. The Illini couldn’t counter, giving Wisconsin a 3-1 win on the road.
Courtesy of Illinois Athletics
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Sophomore Jacqueline Quaderegistered a match-high 14 kills, but the Fighting Illini volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 16-25, 20-25) decision to No. 12 Wisconsin on Friday (November 17) night in Huff Hall.
Junior Ali Bastianelli posted nine kills on a .368 hitting percentage and a team-high six blocks for the Illini (18-10, 9-8), while redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince added nine kills on the night.
Junior Jordyn Poulter directed the Illini offense with 37 assists and also turned in five blocks and five digs in the setback.
Senior Brandi Donnelly led the Illini defense with a match-high 18 digs.
It was all Illinois to start the match as a back-to-back Prince kills followed by back-to-back Badger attack errors put the home team ahead 9-4 early in the first. After Poulter and Bastianelli combined for a block to make it 15-10, Wisconsin (18-8, 9-8) used four-straight points to cut the advantage to one at 15-14. The Illini responded with an 8-3 run – including four-straight points to start the run – to take a 23-17 edge on a kill from freshman Tyanna Omazic. The two teams then sided out, before a Quade kill gave the Illini a 25-20 set one victory.
It was a back-and-forth start to the second as the Badgers took an 10-7 lead on a block, but the Illini came back to knot things at 14-14 on a Quade kill. With the score tied at 20-20, the Badgers took the next four points to build a 24-20 edge. After the Illini fought off three set points, a Lauren Gillis kill evened up the match heading into the break.
In another close start, neither team had more than a two-point advantage until an Illini service error put the Badgers up 12-9 midway through the stanza. A Quade kill kept UI within two at 14-12, but an 8-2 run then gave the visitors a 22-14 advantage. The two teams then traded points before a Badger service ace sealed the third, 25-16.
After an Omazic stuff made it 5-3, the Illini continued to hold the lead at 12-9 following a Badger attack error. Wisconsin then used a 6-2 run to pull ahead at 15-14. After a UW service error tied things again at 15-15, the visitors strung together five-straight points to take a 20-15 edge. A Quade kill cut the Illini deficit to 21-17, but back-to-back Wisconsin kills stalled the rally as the Badgers went on to win the fourth, 25-20 and take the match, 3-1.
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