Illinois volleyball secured its 14th straight win against Rutgers Sunday at Huff Hall.
Head coach Chris Tamas led the Illini to a commanding victory and buffered his career record to 8-0 against Rutgers, with the Illini now 15-1 versus the Scarlet Knights in program history. Illinois moved to 8-10 on the season and 3-5 against Big Ten opponents.
In a grueling first set, the Illini struck first with two straight points, followed by a Rutgers 3-0 run. Points were traded, tying the score at 7, 11 and 14 after the start of an Illini 6-0 run featuring back-to-back aces from senior outside hitter Raina Terry. Rutgers worked back to tie the score at 20 before Terry dominated in the final three points, hitting consecutive kills and sealing the first-set win for the Illini.
Graduate middle blocker Kennedy Collins set the tone early in the second set with back-to-back kills, giving an 8-5 lead to Illinois. A controversial uncalled Rutgers error generated an eruption of Huff Hall fans chanting, “That’s four hits!,” but a kill from fifth-year outside hitter Jessica Nunge resurged the Illini momentum. An ace from sophomore setter Brooke Mosher gave Illinois an 11-8 lead, but a combination of errors and kills from the Scarlet Knights flipped the score and forced an Illinois timeout, down 12-15. Two kills from Terry followed, but Rutgers responded with two of its own and an ace, making it 14-19 and forcing another timeout from Illinois. A kill from Terry kept the Illini alive, but a service error gave the second set to Rutgers 17-25.
“We just really trusted each other,” Nunge said. “Especially in this serve and pass battle, we did a great job of communicating, and when we were getting down, we stayed together.”
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A gritty battle ensued in the third set of the tied-up match, with Terry’s third ace giving the Illini a 4-2 lead early. Kills from junior outside hitter Kayla Burbage, who was returning from an injury, and a Mosher block contributed to a 16-14 lead. The Scarlet Knights couldn’t handle Terry’s serve as she registered her fourth ace of the match and forced a Rutgers timeout at 21-18. Nunge and Terry terminated the ball, winning the third set 25-23.
The Illini took care of business in the fourth set. Nunge’s ace put Illinois up 4-1 and kills from Terry and freshman middle blocker Cari Bohm led to a 14-6 lead and a timeout from Rutgers. Collins played clutch down the stretch with multiple kills and roofs as the Illini picked up a double-digit lead. With her season-high 12-kill performance, Nunge’s attack set the Illini up 24-12, and who else but Terry to terminate the ball and secure an Illini home win.
Illinois volleyball heads east next weekend for a pair of Big Ten road matchups, facing Maryland on Friday at 6 p.m. and Rutgers again at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
