The Illini returned to Huff Hall with a sweeping victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night.
Now on a six-game win streak, Illinois holds a 13-10 overall record with eight wins and five losses in the Big Ten. Leading tonight for the Illini and dominating on the court was senior outside hitter Raina Terry. The Illini veteran recorded 22 of the team’s 50 kills with a service ace to pad her stats. Head coach Chris Tamas improved his record to 9-2 against the Wildcats, with the Illini owning a 65-31 record historically. Starring on defense, junior libero Caroline Barnes showed out with 18 digs and sophomore setter Brooke Mosher set up 40 assists.
The first set started tight. The Illini pulled off a 4-0 scoring run featuring a diving one-arm dig from Barnes to keep the ball alive, and the rally ended with a kill from Terry. Barnes followed it up with an ace when Northwestern called a timeout: Illinois up 12-11. The Wildcats regrouped with a 5-0 scoring run before graduate middle blocker Kennedy Collins killed the ball and Northwestern’s momentum. A tough battle closed out the first set as the score came tied at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 before kills came from Mosher and fifth-year outside hitter Jessica Nunge to win the set 25-23.
“Our defense has been getting a lot more touches than we have been,” Terry said. “It’s great, it gives us the freedom to take big rips, being able to trust our back row is behind us.”
A strike from Collins opened up the second set, and the Illini powered up to create an 8-1 lead. The Wildcats slowly battled back, coming within two points late in the set when Illinois called a timeout, up 19-17. With the score tied at 20, junior outside hitter Kayla Burbage spiked a kill and an Illini 5-2 run, securing the second set win 25-22.
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Northwestern did not go home easily as they took the first point of the third set with a kill. The Illini lagged in the score until a Nunge kill put them up 10-9. The Illini grew their lead to three when Mosher unleashed her top-spin serve for an ace, Illinois up 15-12 at the media timeout.
They held onto the lead until a Northwestern service ace tied the score at 19 and forced an Illinois timeout. Both sides battled down the stretch with the score coming tied at 20, 21 and 22 before the Illini pulled away with a crucial 3-1 run. Terry spiked the ball to complete Illinois’ third straight-set win of the season.
“We’re playing a lot better all around,” Tamas said. “People are figuring out their role on the floor and their spacing around one another, so (Wisconsin) should be a good battle.”
Illinois volleyball hits the road to face No. 2 Wisconsin on Saturday night, then travels to play Iowa and Nebraska. The Illini will return to Huff Hall on Nov. 15 in a match against Ohio State.
