2023-10-26 03:58:28
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Wednesday night’s match at Huff Hall favored Illinois as the Fighting Illini took down Indiana in a five-set thriller.
With the victory, the Fighting Illini own a 11-10 on the year with a 6-5 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers, who were receiving votes in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, dropped to 16-8 this season and 6-5 in league play.
The Orange and Blue tallied 55 kills and 66 digs in the match. The team added 49 assists and 10 strikes from the service line.
Three Fighting Illini players tallied double digit kills with Raina Terry pacing the squad with 16. Kennedy Collins added 12 kills and logged five aces along with four blocks. Cari Bohm notched a career-best 10 kills on hitting .643 in the victory.
Caroline Barnes recorded 21 digs, one behind her season best. Vanessa Pan tallied a stunning 19 digs, the most this season and in her Illini career.
How it happened
Illinois jumped ahead 8-5 early following a rally with Collins behind the service line. However, Indiana countered with a 3-0 run to tie the match at eight apiece. The team’s battled back-and-forth, but at the media break, the score favored the Hoosiers, 15-12. The Orange and Blue did not go away quietly, with an IU attack error tying the set at 16. The Fighting Illini burned a timeout following back-to-back Hoosier kills, leaving Illinois behind 19-17. A stuff by Brooke Mosher and Collins tied the set at 22 following a timeout by IU. The Zion, Ill., native took over, notching a kill and an ace to bring the Illini to set point. Despite Indiana tying the set for the 10th time at 24 all, Terry added a kill from the back row before Mosher sealed the set with an ace, to give Illinois the 26-24 triumph in the opening frame.
The Orange and Blue fell behind 10-5 early in the set when Indiana posted a 3-0 rally, leading the Illini squad used a timeout. Back-to-back Collins kills cut the deficit to three, leading to an IU stoppage. However, the opposition built back the 16-10 edge following back-to-back blocks. Bohm sparked a late 3-0 run late in the set, leading to and Indiana timeout with the Orange and Blue trailing 22-16, but the run was not enough with the Hoosiers taking the second set, 25-18.
In a set that saw 14 ties and six lead changes, the Illini held the slight 16-14 edge following Collins’ fourth ace of the match. Indiana used a timeout following a Kayla Burbage kill from the right side that put Illinois ahead 20-17. Terry buried a ball to help Illinois keep its 23-21 edge over IU before the opposition burned its final timeout of the match. The Hoosiers added back-to-back points out of the break, leading to Illinois final stoppage of the set and the frame squared away at 23. Out of the timeout, Mosher tallied a kill off the Indiana overpass before Collins added her fifth ace of the match for the 25-23 victory.
A 6-0 run by the Hoosiers put the Illini behind 8-4 early in the fourth frame. Illinois continued to struggle, falling behind 15-5 before the team burned its final break of the frame. Indiana ended the set on a 3-0 run, taking the game 25-10 and forcing a decisive fifth set.
With the match squared at two sets apiece, Illinois held the slight 6-4 edge following a stuff from Bohm and Jessica Nunge, resulting in a Hoosier timeout. An attack error by the Illini left the team behind by a score when it came time to change sides of the court. Following the change, two straight kills coming from the hands of Burbage and Bohm helped the Illini regain the 9-8 lead. Matching the Hoosiers point-for-point, Illinois pulled away down the stretch, scoring the final four points of the match to triumph 15-10 in the fifth set.
Notes
– Starters: Brooke Mosher, Raina Terry, Kayla Burbage, Kennedy Collins, Lily Barry, Cari Bohm and Caroline Barnes
– Illinois moved to 4-3 with this lineup.
– The Illini wore sleeveless white jerseys moving to 6-1 this year while donning those.
– The Illinois volleyball program moved to 75-19 against Indiana all time.
– Head coach Chris Tamas owns a 10-2 record against the Hoosiers.
– Illinois improved to 1-4 in nationally televised matches.
– Terry tallied two aces, bringing her career total to 149 and putting her fifth in the all-time in the Illini record books.
– In the first set alone, Illinois tallied five aces.
– Collins recorded a new career best with five strikes from the service line.
– The match marked the third time this year, Illinois totaled double digit service aces.
– Vanessa Pan crushed her season-best dig mark, tallying 19 in the match.
– Barnes posted back-to-back 20-plus dig performances, logging 21 in the victory.
– Bohm recorded a new career best 10 kills and .647 hitting clip in the match.
– Illinois moved to 4-3 in five-set matches.
– The match was the third-straight five setter for the Illini, marking the first time since the 2021 season where the team won three thrillers in a row.
– Attendance on Wednesday night was called at 2,115.
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