Illinois (6-4, 1-0) put on a show at Huff Hall Friday evening to start conference play with a 3-0 sweep win. After a dogfight in the first set, Oregon (9-2, 0-1) fell away in the second and third sets. The Illini restricted the Ducks to 15 and 18 points in the second and third sets, respectively, tying the lowest mark (15) they’ve held an opponent to in a set this season.
Out of luck, Ducks
Coming into Friday’s match, Oregon was riding a four-game winning streak and boasted a 4-0 away record. Its away prowess took over in the first set. A service ace brought the score to 20-13 and prompted the game’s most important Illinois timeout.
“I just reminded them to stay steady,” said Illinois head coach Chris Tamas. “I felt like we were pressing too hard, trying to force points, and when that happens, touches don’t go where you want. So we took a breath, reset and got back to simple reminders.”
With five aces and six Illinois errors, Oregon hurried away to a 22-14 lead. Tamas substituted middle blockers graduate student Kayla Burbage and redshirt sophomore Gabby Dean in. The substitutions turned the tide of the game. Two Burbage kills, one Dean kill and them teaming up for a block took the Illini on a 5-0 run.
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“When she’s on, she’s as good as anyone,” Tamas said about Burbage. “She’s really an X-factor, her energy lifts the team, and when she’s blocking, touching balls and attacking like that, it changes the game.”
That run extended to a 13-2 overall run that helped the Illini storm back and win the first set. Tied at 24, senior outside hitter Averie Hernandez launched a service ace that sent Huff Hall into a roar.
“We had a team timeout where we just said, ‘Hey, we need more energy,’” Burbage said. “Execution will come, but energy is something we can control every night. Once we got fired up and brought that energy, it really showed in how we battled back.”
Illinois grabbed six aces while only committing four service errors. Oregon, on the other hand, had eight aces but 10 service errors, which gave away momentum at critical points. Tamas emphasized the importance of serving well post-game.
“We always emphasize serving tough in this conference,” Tamas said. “Every team has good attackers, and if you serve easy, you won’t win. It’s been our thing for a long time; serve tough, get opponents off the net.”
Team effort
Illinois outkilled Oregon 44-32 on Friday, and it was a team performance that made it happen. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor de Boer posted a team-leading 15 kills with two digs and a block. This was the eighth time she recorded double-digit kills and led the team in kills for the seventh time. After hitting at 0.059 and 0.158 hitting percentage over the last two games, de Boer bounced back with an efficient 0.429 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Alyssa Aguayo continued her seasoned offensive play with her eighth double-digit kill game of the season. She has now had double-digit kills in eight out of her 10 matches and five-plus digs in nine out of 10.
“Coming in, I wanted to work on all my different shots,” Aguayo said. “We practice a lot of them, and getting those reps has really helped me show them in games. I work a lot on my defense; we do plenty of it in practice. Getting those digs so our hitters can score is very important.”
Redshirt sophomore opposite Auburn Tomkinson had another efficient offensive game. Tomkinson nudged several sharp kills playing from the right of the court. She recorded nine kills, two digs and three blocks at a 0.389 hitting percentage. The Illini have seen an upward trajectory from the 6-foot-5 opposite in the first games of her career.
Big Ten, top ten
Illinois faces No. 10 Purdue (10-1, 1-0) Sunday at Mackey Arena. This will be Illinois’ second top-10 opponent of the season and will test its lineup early in conference play. The sweep over the Ducks inspired Illini confidence, but the Boilermakers are formidable opponents.
“We’ve shaken off some of that Big Ten dust,” Burbage said. “We’re ready to get back into it. But we know this win is done, and Purdue is our next target. We’re focused on that and trying to pull out another win.”
