#7 Illinois def. #5 Wisconsin 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 35-33, 25-23)
- Illinois moves to 16-3, 5-3 Big Ten; Wisconsin falls to 12-4, 5-3 Big Ten
- Box Score
- Illinois Recap / Wisconsin Recap
Illinois snapped an eight-match losing streak against the Badgers with the four-set win and evened the season series after falling 3-1 in Champaign on Oct. 3.
Illinois boasted a slight advantage over the Badgers in kills (66-63), hitting efficiency (.220 to .210), aces (8-2) and blocks (15-13).
Jacqueline Quade paced the Illini with a career-high 26 kills, nine digs and four blocks, while hitting at a .261 clip. Megan Cooney and Ali Bastianelli added 11 kills apiece. Ashlyn Fleming notched seven kills, three aces and a team-leading nine blocks, while Bastianelli put up six stuffs. Jordyn Poulter notched a 55-assist, 13-dig double-double to go with five kills, four blocks and three aces.
Dana Rettke led the Badger scoring with 19 kills and six blocks, while hitting .370. Tionna Williams (12), Grace Loberg (10) and Maddie Haggerty (9) followed offensively. Williams put up six blocks, while Loberg finished off a double-double with 10 digs. Haggerty also added 10 digs.
The teams tied nine times in Set 1, last at 15, before Wisconsin pulled away with a 6-1 run, including two Hilley putaways and two Illini miscues. Illinois cut the margin to two at 21-19 and thwarted the first two Badger set-point tries (24-21). Wisconsin called timeout and ended the set on a Rettke kill.
Illinois served up five aces en route to a 25-21 Set 2 win. Quade turned in three kills as the Illini jumped ahead 4-1 and added a fourth as the team push the margin to five at 11-6. Fleming served up back-to-back aces to make it 14-8 Illinois. Down 20-12, Wisconsin clawed back to within three at 23-20 with help from two Loberg kills and a kill and an ace by Rettke. Two Fleming kills sealed the 25-21 Illini win.
After falling behind 7-3 in Set 3, Illinois claimed a two-point lead at 11-9 as Prince, Poulter and Bastianelli notched two kills apiece. The teams tied four times, last at 20, before the Illini earned the first set-point try at 24-22 on a Quade kill. A kill and a block by Rettke knotted the score at 24 and started a string of 10 ties. Illinois had another set-point attempt at 25-24, before Wisconsin earned eight of its own, last at 33-32. Quade came through for the Illini with two kills and a block to steal away the 35-33 victory.
Illinois built a 7-3 lead in Set 4, but Wisconsin tied it up three times before taking a brief 12-11 lead of its own. From there, the Illni scored five in a row, including two Bastianelli kills, to go up 16-12. After trailing by as many as five at 23-18, the Badgers put together a 5-1 run to narrow the gap to one at 24-23, thwarting the first Illini match point try at 24-22 on a block by Duello and Rettke. Bastianelli prevented a further comeback with her 11th kill of the night.
Illinois wins it!!! Ali Bastianelli's kill gives @IlliniVBall a huge road victory against #8 Wisconsin! #ILLINI pic.twitter.com/9dpJ7rG544
— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) October 14, 2018
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