Illinois (2-2) was looking for its first win against a top-three opponent since 2011. In the fourth game of 2025, the chance arose. The Illini visited KFC Yum! Center Sunday afternoon to face their biggest challenge thus far: the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals (4-0).
Back in 2012 was when the Cardinals last beat the Illini. However, roughly two hours later, that drought was ended. Louisville held off several charges from Illinois to secure the win, three sets to one.
Long runs power Cardinals
A lot of the reason why Louisville pulled away with its fourth win of 2025 was its long service runs. A 6-0 service run behind two kills each from junior outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and freshman opposite Kalyssa Blackshear put the Cardinals in front by five. Both teams would trade blows for some time before Louisville went on a 5-1 service run, eventually putting the first set to bed.
Set two played out similarly, with a 6-6 tie turning into a 12-7 Cardinals lead in the blink of an eye. The Illini did come back to take the lead late in the set before another long run curbed their chances. The Cardinals also managed two 6-0 runs in the fourth set, which would push them to the win.
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Killing Illinois’ hopes
Every time a pass went to sophomore outside hitter Payton Petersen, she swung with authority. Petersen was the match leader in kills, with 20, to go along with a service ace. Chicoine wasn’t far behind, registering 17 kills, while Blackshear had 13 on the day.
While the Illini were playing solid defense, matching the Cardinals in blocks at 10 per side, it was not enough to slow the flow of the Cardinals’ attack. Louisville has a hitting percentage close to .300, so it wasn’t a surprise that kills flew left and right from its side.
The percentages were .300 or above in three out of four sets. The only exception was set three, a lowly .182, and the Illini took advantage to steal that set.
Never quitting
Following a rough first set, the young Illini showed signs of grit. When down by five in set two, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor de Boer registered four kills. That effort led to a 6-1 scoring run to tie things up. While the set did eventually go Louisville’s way, it was an encouraging sign that Illinois was not going to let the other team off easy.
While de Boer led the Illini with 18 kills, freshman outside hitter Alyssa Aguayo made veteran plays all afternoon to snag 10 of her own. Sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot was a blocking machine all game long, with six of them. The speedy assisting from junior setter Kenna Phelan helped facilitate the fight from Illinois, being credited with 38.
Illinois registered more kills than Louisville in the aforementioned third set. Like set two, it started out even. But a 4-0 run led by graduate student middle blocker Kayla Burbage is what pushed the Illini to the lead. Burbage had a kill and service ace in that set-defining stretch, helping hand Louisville its first set defeat of 2025.
A slate far from Normal, or not
The Illini are set to compete in the Linda Herman Classic this weekend in Normal, Illinois. Illinois will go up against Cincinnati (4-1) on Friday, Miami (4-1) on Saturday and tournament host Illinois State (4-2) on Sunday.
