Illinois extended its perfect start to conference play with an upset win over No. 4 Purdue in West Lafayette, 3-2 (30-28, 15-25, 26-24, 18-25, 15-10), the team’s second straight win at Holloway Gym after securing an upset to finish the season last year.

The Illini were led by outside hitters Megan Cooney, who notched a double-double with a season-high 21 kills and 10 digs, Jessica Nunge, who set a new career-best with 15 kills, and Raina Terry, who recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs, and setter Diana Brown, who secured a double-double with 50 assists and 15 digs.

“It’s just exciting to see this team have such great success in the Big Ten right now,” Cooney said. “We’ve worked pretty hard in practice this week to just play the best that we can against Purdue, so that was exciting to see our hard work pay off.”

The first set was a back-and-forth affair, as neither team ever led by more than three points in the frame. After fighting off three set points, Illinois took the set via a kill from Terry and a service ace from setter Brown.

Set two wasn’t as favorable for the Illini. After Illinois got out to a quick 4-2 lead, Purdue went on an 11-3 run, and it was never able to recover, falling 25-15 and tying the match at 1-1.

Trailing by as many as six three different times in the third set, Illinois used a late surge to take the 2-1 lead. Down 22-17, the Illini went on a 6-0 run that included two Cooney kills, kills from Nunge and middle blocker Kyla Swanson, an ace from Terry and a Boilermaker error. After Purdue fought off a set point, back-to-back kills from Cooney and Nunge sealed the set and put Illinois on the verge of completing the upset.

“Everyone was kinda doing their job,” said head coach Chris Tamas. “We’re trying to win every single that’s possible, and we’re trying to put our best foot forward every single time we play. I just think it’s just one of those nights where it worked in our favor and we have to continue to do the best we can for it continue that way.”

Illinois got off to a fast start to open the fourth frame, leading by as many as five twice in the set. After the Illini went up 12-7, the Boilermakers rattled off eight straight points to turn the five-point deficit into a three-point lead, and they didn’t look back, winning the set, 25-18.

For the third consecutive match, the Illini went all five sets. After going up by five points for the second straight set, Illinois didn’t let that big lead slip away, with the Illini clinching the upset win on a Cooney kill, her 20th of the night, and an ace from Taylor Kuper.

With the win, Illinois now sits atop the Big Ten with a 3-0 conference record and an 11-3 mark overall. The Illini return to Champaign on Sunday to take on No. 5 Wisconsin at noon at Huff Hall.

“I think (the win) just helps the confidence, and I know the team is not gonna rest on the fact that we beat No. 4; it doesn’t matter. Wisconsin is a very nice team themselves, and we gotta still do our best to just try to win one at a time.”

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