The Illinois volleyball team went into this weekend’s match hoping to end a three-game losing streak against an Indiana team on its own six-game skid.

“It was a hard-fought effort just like the last couple of games,” Illinois head coach Don Hardin said. “We just have to continue to fight until we get through this.”

Once again, Illinois out-blocked a team known for its blocking skills. Indiana is third in the Big Ten and 16th in the nation in team blocks per game, averaging 3.21 blocks per game.

The Illini had a season-high 15 blocks, two more than the Hoosiers. Most of the blocking success can be attributed to sophomore middle blocker Vicki Brown. Brown led the way for Illinois with nine block assists.

“It was a great blocking match at times,” Hardin said. “Vicki Brown stepped it up and contributed.”

On the offensive end, senior outside hitter Rachel VanMeter had a great night contributing 32 kills, while redshirt freshman outside hitter Kayani Turner had 10 and was the only other Illinois player with double digit kills.

Illinois hit .132 in the first three games before tying the match at two games apiece and hitting .205 in the fourth game. Illinois looked posed for a comeback win, but it didn’t happen. In the fifth game the Illini hit only .056, compared to Indiana’s .280 hitting percentage.

Freshman setter Lizzie Bazzetta and sophomore setter Stephanie Obermeier teamed up to distribute the ball and collected all but three of Illinois’ 56 assists on the night.

“Stephanie Obermeier came in and really rejoulted the offense,” Hardin said. “She did a great job at the setter position.”

In game one, the Illini started quick, taking the lead 7-4 with kills by VanMeter, Brown and Turner. Indiana battled back to tie the score and lead the rest of the way, winning the first game, 30-22.

Illinois responded in a competitive second game that featured five ties and three lead changes. The Illini won it after a kill from Brown, a service ace by senior outside hitter Rasa Virsilaite and two kills from VanMeter.

VanMeter had six kills in game three, but it wasn’t enough as the Hoosiers won the game, 30-22.

The fourth and fifth games were both tightly contested, with each game featuring six ties and two lead changes. But the Hoosiers were too much for Illinois in the final game of the match, winning it 15-12 and taking the match 3-2 (22-30, 30-24, 22-30, 30-26, 12-15).

The Illini are now fighting for a postseason birth, which usually entails a winning record and a few upset wins against ranked opponents. The last time Illinois lost to Indiana was in 2002 at Bloomington, coincidentally the same year Illinois failed to qualify for postseason play.

With the loss, Illinois falls to 11-10 overall and 2-8 in the Big Ten, tied with Indiana for 10 in the conference. The team looks to turn it around next Friday at home against Michigan State as the second half of conference play starts.

“We have to be patient,” Hardin said. “We have plenty of positive energy to build off of. It’s just a matter of time until we start winning again.”