‘We will get there’: Illinois volleyball falls to No. 10 Minnesota, continues tough Big Ten slate
Senior middle blocker Rylee Hinton goes to hit the ball over the net during Illinois’ match up against Rutgers on Wednesday.
October 15, 2022
Illinois volleyball (9-9, 4-4) traveled on the road to face off against the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-6, 5-3) as they looked to pull off an upset in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers ended up victorious, sweeping the Illini in three close sets determined by slim margins.
The Illini have faced plenty of tough hitters this year and that did not change, as they went up against redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor Landfair, who ranks 12th in the nation for kills per set with 4.55.
Illinois struggled for much of the first set, as Minnesota could not miss on their hits, winning the first set in dominant fashion, 25-19. The Illini made another attempt to come back, but could not pull it off. Senior middle blocker Rylee Hinton led Illinois with three kills in set one.
The Illini have shown resilience all year long and they looked to do so in set two. It was a constant battle, as Illinois led for most of the set before Minnesota took charge. The set was as close as it could’ve been with 11 ties and four lead changes, as the Gophers won it 25-23 to go up 2-0 in the match. Junior outside hitter Raina Terry led the Illini with eight kills and a pair of service aces in the set.
The Illini just six days after being swept by Penn State looked to avoid that same fate in set three. Head coach Chris Tamas once again went with very few substitutions, trying to keep consistency in the lineup, which they have not had all year due to injuries. Unfortunately, it did not pay off as Minnesota pulled off the sweep 25-23.
The Illini had some great attacks in the match, with nine service aces. Each starter recorded one, but it did not amount to a win as the Illini once again dropped to .500 on the year and in the conference.
“You have to keep teams off the net in our conference,” Tamas said. “At the end of the day, to me, that’s going to win you matches, and we have some players that are not quite comfortable with that yet, but we will get there.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
The Illini continue their tough schedule on Wednesday in Columbus to take on the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes.
@arrosen76
