MATCH STATS
- (RV) Illinois def. Indiana, 3-1 (22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-22)
- Illinois improves to 13-4, 4-2; Indiana falls to 11-7, 0-6
- Champaign, Illinois
- Attendance: 2875
- Box score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A balanced offense from the Fighting Illini led the blue and orange to victory and season sweep over Indiana. Junior Ali Bastianelli led all players with 16 kills without an error, hitting .533 on the evening. She also added a match-high 7 blocks. Redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince (an Indiana native) added 15 kills for Illinois. Junior Jordyn Poulter ran the efficient offense by almost registering the 13th triple-double in program history. She had 47 assists, 12 digs and matched Bastianelli’s numbers with 7 blocks on the match. Illinois hit .322 on the night, including hitting over .300 for the final three sets against the Hoosiers. Four of the Fighting Illini finished with double-digit digs, including Poulter, Annika Gereau (10), Morgan O’Brien and Caroline Welsh (12 digs each).
The Hoosiers, after losing a five-set heartbreaker to Northwestern the night before, fought the good fight and hit .264 in Huff Hall. Four Hoosiers finished with double-digit kills, led by freshman Kamryn Malloy with 15. Other getting in on the offensive party for Indiana also included Deyshia Lofton with 14 kills and 6 blocks (hitting .444), Hayden Huybers with 13 kills (hitting .385) and Elizabeth Asdell with 10 kills (hitting .333). Nora Meehan had a match-high 18 digs. Victoria Brisack ran the Hoosier offense with 53 assists and chipped in 11 digs, 2 blocks and 2 kills.
In all, the match was closely contested in multiple categories. Illinois led in hitting percentage (.322-.264), digs (60-59) and blocks (11-7). Indiana led in kills (65-62), aces (4-2) and assists (60-56).
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Illinois Athletics
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Behind a team effort and standout performances from juniors Ali Bastianelli and Jordyn Poulter and redshirt-sophomore Beth Prince, the Fighting Illini volleyball team earned a season sweep of Indiana with a 3-1 (22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-22) victory on Saturday (October 7) night at Huff Hall.
Bastianelli led all players with 16 kills on 30 attempts and no errors for a .533 hitting percentage to go along with a match-high seven blocks, while Prince turned in 15 kills on the night.
Poulter quarterbacked the Illini offense to a .322 hitting percentage – including registering over a .300 attack clip in the final three sets – and came within three blocks of the program’s 13th triple-double with 47 assists, 12 digs and seven blocks – all match-highs.
Sophomore Jacqueline Quade joined Bastianelli and Prince in double figures with 11 kills, while defensively, sophomores Caroline Welsh and Annika Gereau and freshman Morgan O’Brien reached double-digit digs with Welsh and O’Brien totaling 12 and Gereau adding 10.
The Illini (13-4, 4-2) raced out to a 7-1 lead – capped by a Quade ace – to open the first set and pushed the advantage to 11-3 on a kill from freshman Tyanna Omazic, but the Hoosiers (11-7, 0-6) responded with a 20-7 run, including stretches of six-straight points on two occasions to grab a 23-18 lead late in the set. Trailing by four at 24-20, the Illini fought off two set points before IU finish the opener with a kill.
It was a tight second set with 16 ties and neither team grabbing more that a three-point advantage, until a Quade service ace broke a 25-25 tie and was then followed by an IU attack attempt that went long to give the Illini the 27-25 set win and knot the match at 1-1.
After taking an early 8-5 lead in the third on a Quade kill, the Illini pushed the edge to 14-9 on a block from Poulter and junior Blayke Hranicka. An Indiana overpass then resulted in an Hranicka kill and a 17-11 Illini lead, but the Hoosiers rallied to cut the deficit to two at 22-20 on an UI attack error, but back-to-back Prince kills combined with a Prince and Hranicka stuff sealed the third set, 25-20.
It was all Illini to start the fourth as a Poulter and Bastianelli block put the home team up 9-3, before the Hoosiers closed within one at 14-13 on a 6-1 run. A Prince kill again pushed the Illini advantage to four at 20-16, but three-straight Hoosier points cut the lead to one at 20-19. Illinois cooled the comeback with three-straight points of their own for set point at 24-20 and after IU fought two set points, a Hoosier serve into the net finished off the fourth set victory and the 3-1 Illini win.
As a team, the Illini outblocked the Hoosiers, 11 to seven, and held their opponents to a .264 hitting percentage.
Courtesy of Indiana Athletics
Champaign, Ill. – The Indiana volleyball team had four players register double-digit kills but came up short on the road at Illinois in four sets (25-22, 25-27, 20-25, 22-25).
Freshman Kamryn Malloy led the Hoosiers with 15 kills and sophomore Deyshia Lofton added 14 kills and six blocks. Sophomore Hayden Huybers tallied 13 kills and junior Elizabeth Asdellrecorded 10 kills.
The Indiana middle blockers, Lofton and Huybers combined for 27 kills and hit a combined .415 for the match.
Freshman Nora Meehan recorded a season-high 18 digs and sophomore setter Victoria Brisack notched her ninth double-double of the season with 53 assists and 11 digs.
The Hoosiers (11-7, 0-6) trailed Illinois 10-3 in the first set, but used a 9-3 run to get within one at 13-12. Indiana took its first lead of the set on a kill by Huybers to make it 18-17. Indiana pushed that lead to 23-18 on a block by Lofton and Brisack and won the opening set, 25-22.
Indiana tallied 17 kills in the second set and led 15-12 on a kill by Malloy. Illinois came back to tie the set 17-17. The Hoosiers and Fighting Illini had eight ties the rest of the set and ultimately won a close set, 27-25.
After dropping the third set the Hoosiers came back focused in the fourth set. Indiana hit .368 in the fourth set with 18 kills and four attack errors.
Indiana fell behind 9-4 in the fourth set, but would eventually get within one on a kill from sophomore Meaghan Koors to make it 14-13. After Illinois went up 20-16, the Hoosiers got within one at 21-20 on a kill from Malloy.
The Hoosiers went down 24-20, but again came back to get within two at 24-22. The match ended on an Indiana service error to give Illinois a 25-22 fourth set victory.
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