If volleyball hoped to make it into the NCAA Tournament this year, two upset wins against No. 19 Ohio State and No. 3 Penn State were pivotal, but Illinois was unable to pull off the upsets and lost both matches in three games.

The story of the weekend was Ohio State and Penn State’s defense, forcing Illinois to hit a mere .043 on the weekend. Although Illinois outblocked Ohio State on Friday, the Illini only hit .111 on the night. Penn State’s presence in front of the net gave Illinois fits all night, piling up 14 team blocks compared to Illinois’ three.

On Friday, Ohio State came into Huff Hall having lost against Illinois in the first game of the year, and the Illini hoped to sweep the season series. Although Ohio State beat Illinois in three straight games to win the match, every point was closely contested – with 19 ties and six lead changes in match.

Illinois found itself within striking distance in all three games, but head coach Don Hardin said jitters got the best of his bunch on Friday.

“I think we know the enemy, and it’s anxiousness and inexperience at the end of games,” Hardin said. “Our skill level has improved; we’re doing things better on occasion; but the story tonight was just looking up at the scoreboard and getting anxious at the end. We were there in every single game.”

In game one, the Illini led 20-17, only to see Ohio State outscore Illinois 13-4 to take the win.

In game two, Illinois rallied back and scored three straight points to tie it up at 27. Ohio State then called a timeout and scored the last three points of the game to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In game three, after leading most of the match, Illinois found itself tied with Ohio State at 26, but the Buckeyes pulled away, getting the last four points of the match for the win.

“We’re so close every time,” said senior outside hitter Rachel VanMeter. “It’s just that someone gets nervous. It’s a different player every game. We’re just going to have to overcome that.”

Illinois was able to slow down Ohio State’s big offensive producer – sophomore Danielle Meyer, who had seven kills but only hit .047 on the night.

Senior outside hitter Rasa Virsilaite had one of the most well-rounded games of the year with a career high six blocks, eight kills and 11 digs. Virsilaite, who is from Lithuania originally, got to play in front of her mother for the first time in her college career.

VanMeter led the Illini with 15 kills on the night to move into second on the Illinois single-season kills list with 554, trailing only Erin Borske’s 714 in 1995.

“It’s an honor,” VanMeter said. “I think a win would mean more right now. To finish our season on a positive note with some wins in our pocket would mean more than any award I could get.”

On Saturday, a season-best crowd of 2,038 witnessed Illinois coming face-to-face with one of the best teams in the nation. Penn State is 26-2 on the year with their only losses coming against No. 1 Nebraska and No. 4 Stanford.

“This was the case of a team in their groove,” Hardin said. “They’re a potential Final Four team that could make a great run through the NCAA Tournament. They’re really having their way in the conference this year, and we’re a team that’s beat up and struggling. Hats off to Penn State – they played flawless volleyball for the entire match.”

Penn State, now on an 18-game winning streak, clinched at least a tie for the Big Ten championship with four matches left to play.

Illinois, on the other hand, looks to finish the year strong.

“After all the adversity we’ve been through, we still have a chance to pull out a winning season,” Hardin said. “To do that would be quite amazing.”