Saturday Roundup: 8 Sweeps, 3 Seeds Fall, Michigan Wins Marathon vs. Pitt
Saturday featured 12 matches with the winners earning a ticket to the Sweet 16 next weekend. Eight of the matches ended in sweeps, although two of those provided upsets as No. 9 Creighton and No. 11 USC fell to Washington and San Diego respectively.
Illinois Piles Up 19 Blocks in 3-1 Win Over Louisville to Advance to Sweet 16
In front a boisterous crowd of over 3,700 Illini fans, the No. 3 seeded and ranked Illinois volleyball team earned its second-straight trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 and ninth in the last 11 seasons with a hard-fought 3-1 (25-22, 28-26, 25-17, 25-18) victory over Louisville.
Big Ten: Michigan, Penn State, Illinois Sweep; Gophers Move to 10-0
Minnesota remained perfect atop the Big Ten standings at 10-0 with a four-set win over Nebraska. Penn State, Illinois and Michigan all held rank in sweep of Rutgers, Michigan State and Northwestern respectively.
Big Ten: All 6 Home Teams Win, Northwestern Grabs 1st League Victory
All six home sides held court on Friday in the Big Ten, including upset wins by Indiana and Northwestern, who moved past Ohio State and Michigan State respectively. Illinois and Wisconsin each went the distance for wins over Michigan and Nebraska.
Bastianelli’s Career-High 19 Kills Leads Illinois Past Michigan in 5
Four Illinois players managed double-digit kill tallies led by Ali Bastianelli’s career-high 19 as the Fighting Illini hung on for a five-set win over Michigan.
7-0: #3 Gophers Stay Perfect in Big Ten with Sweep of #7 Illinois
Minnesota increased its stranglehold on the top spot in the Big Ten standings at 7-0 with a home sweep of Illinois on Friday behind 15 kills by junior Alexis Hart.
Wisconsin Rallies Past Illinois Behind Career Night by Rettke
Wisconsin rallied for a four-set win over Illinois, beating the Illini at their own game, winning the block 8-5 and denying Ali Bastianelli the career total blocks record for another match.
Big Ten: Favorites Prevail in Midweek Conference Tilts
All 3 favored programs played their way to Big Ten conference volleyball victories on Wednesday night as 3rd-ranked Nebraska topped 25th-ranked Iowa in 4, 4th-ranked Minnesota handled Northwestern in straight sets and 5th-ranked Wisconsin downed 7th-ranked Illinois in 4.
Big Ten Volleyball: Maryland’s 5-Set Thriller Highlights Saturday Play
A lot went down in Big Ten volleyball action Saturday night, as Maryland downed Ohio State in 5 sets, 5th-ranked Nebraska ended 4th-ranked Illinois’ perfect start with a 4-set win and Michigan State got back on track with a 4-set win over Rutgers. 7th-ranked Minnesota and 3rd-ranked Wisconsin swept by Indiana and 20th-ranked Purdue, respectively.
#5 Nebraska Halts #4 Illinois Saturday
5th-ranked Nebraska put a stop to 4th-ranked Illinois’ perfect season with a win in 4 sets on Saturday night in Champaign, Ill. The Huskers, who have won 6-straight against the Fighting Illini, are now on a 12-match win streak.
