Illinois volleyball (8-4, 0-2) fell in straight sets in back-to-back games this weekend. This time, the loss came against an undefeated Washington team looking to enter the top 25 list. Illinois is now 1-4 in their last four games.
Head coach Chris Tamas and Illinois are no strangers to Washington. The program is now 3-5 against the Huskies, but Tamas fell to 2-4. The two programs last met on Sept. 4, 2022, when the Illini lost in four sets.
Freshman middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot led the Illini with seven kills on 15 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage. The freshman needed to step up since graduate student outside hitter Raina Terry had an off night. Terry only had four kills on 32 attacks for a -.156 hitting percentage.
Washington got off to a hot start with a 4-0 lead early in the first set. The first three points for Washington came off Illinois errors from Terry and junior outside hitter Averie Hernandez. Washington continued the fire, and Illinois struggled to keep it close in the first set. Washington won the set by 10, with a 25-15 final score.
Set two began in favor of Illinois as they began with a 5-3 lead following blocks made by Philpot and redshirt junior setter Brooke Mosher. Washington came right back and tied it 6-6 off an Illinois service error. However, Illinois went on a 4-0 run and pushed them to lead 10-6.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
A common theme in this set was the Illini not finishing runs. Heading into the media break, the Illinois lead was down to 15-14. Washington tied it back up at 16 apiece shortly after, due to back-to-back Illinois errors.
The Illini went on a 3-0 run against the Huskies before they called timeout to try and regroup. Following the timeout, the Illini extended the run to 5-0 and increased their lead to 24-19 entering set point.
Washington did not go away without a fight. They went on a 5-0 run of their own to tie up the game again 24-24, and Illinois looked defeated. The set was a neck-and-neck finish as the teams entered set point a combined six times, five of which were from the Illini.
The set ended after Washington went on a 3-0 run while Illinois led 28-27. The run completed the comeback, and Washington won set two, 30-28. It was a brutal defeat for Illinois, who allowed five chances to win slip through their fingertips.
“They’re a nice defensive team,” Tamas said. “We know they had a nice block and that they got on our outsides pretty early. I didn’t think we set them well, and I didn’t think we made good choices when the sets were there.”
Set three saw Washington pick up where they left off and went on a 4-0 run to begin the set. The run was broken up after Terry got a kill, which was assisted by Mosher, to make it 4-1.
Washington continued its momentum, which led to an Illinois timeout after the deficit extended to five. Coming out of the timeout, Washington extended its run to 4-0 and the match was practically over.
“This conference isn’t going to give you an inch,” Tamas said. “You have to make sure that you’re bringing it every single point. It’s just too many plays off, and too many plays that we should be making that aren’t being made.”
The lead that Washington secured to start the set was enough to hold onto despite Illinois trying to fight back. Both teams traded blows back and forth. Washington ended the set off an attack error by Illinois and the set three final score was 25-17. With that, Washington finished the sweep.
Illinois will return home with another challenge in front of them. No. 2 Nebraska comes to Huff Hall on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. This is Illinois’ first home game in five weeks.
@Ebrewer1172
