Coming back home after a 3-1 loss to Ohio State earlier in the week, the Illini wasted no time taking care of business against Rutgers in Saturday night’s match at Huff Hall. In front of a crowd of over 3,600, including 40 Illinois Volleyball alumni, Coach Hambly’s team dominated their opponents in three sets, clocking a total match time of 75 minutes.
Illinois vs. Rutgers: November 14, 2015
(25-8, 25-12, 25-16)
“I thought we played pretty clean and pretty efficient,” Hambly said. “We worked hard on defense and did a nice job from the beginning.”
Illini Networker’s President Rick Borup
Middle Blocker Katie Stadick goes up for the point.
Illinois moved up to #16 in the rankings prior to this week’s matches. Rutgers has been struggling this season and after Saturday’s loss they have a 1-15 record in conference play. Still, Illinois did not take their opponent lightly. “Our main focus for the game was just to respect our opponent and be a good host for this game. I think we did a good job of that,” said freshman Ali Bastianelli. In terms of her team’s performance, Bastianelli stated, “I thought we did a really good job passing inside the ten foot line and getting the ball to Jordyn (Poulter). Jordyn did a really good job setting us and I think we really connected today.”
Freshman Jordyn Poulter with the set.
Rutger’s Ali Schroeter
Outside Hitter Jocelyn Birks. Birks had both 10 kills and 10 digs on the evening.
Rutger’s Talia Holze.
Defensive Specialist Julia Conard. Conard led the night with 17 digs.
Libero Brandi Donnelly keeps the point alive.
Assistant Coach Hillary Tennant.
Your Fighting Illini.
Defensive Specialist Allison Palmer serves.
Rutger’s Anna Sudbury.
Outside Hitter Michelle Strizak.
With this win, Illinois moves to an overall record of 18-9 and a conference record of 9-7. The Illini will host Wisconsin this Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Huff Hall.
Setter Alexis Viliunis.
