Riding on the highs of its first top-10 win since 2021, Illinois (7-5, 2-1) traveled to Madison Thursday for another top-10 matchup. No. 7 Wisconsin (10-1, 3-0) didn’t allow an upset, as it completed a sweep, ending a three-game Illinois winning streak.
The Illini started the Big Ten Discover Volleyball Challenge with a loss at a packed UW Field House. This was the Illini’s first sweep loss of the season and showed how difficult their conference slate could be this season.
Held to 20
Wisconsin restricted Illinois to 20 points or fewer in all three sets with a 46-32 kill tally. The hitting percentages spoke for themselves as Illinois only managed 0.103 while Wisconsin scored at 0.340. Blocking has been one of Wisconsin’s biggest strengths this season, and a 10-6 blocking tally showed that.
Illinois played catch-up for the entirety of the game. After keeping it close in the first set, it led by 15-14, which prompted a set-defining Wisconsin timeout. The Badgers came out with an 11-0 run to claim the first set.
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Wisconsin sophomore setter Charlie Fuerbringer launched six assists and one block in that run. It was the closest the Illini got to winning a set. The Badgers allowed mini-Illini scoring runs for the remainder of the game that never got too close to sparking trouble.
One-pronged performance
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor de Boer tried to keep it close offensively, but Wisconsin dried up Illinois’ offense outside of de Boer. She continued to fly high with 13 kills at an efficient 0.360 hit percentage.
The second-best an Illini could manage was redshirt sophomore opposite Auburn Tomkinson’s seven kills. This was the third consecutive game and eighth overall where de Boer led the team in kills. The offense struggled overall as it fell behind 45-29 in assists over the game.
Things just couldn’t get going for the Illini, as despite 16 more total attempts, they recorded 14 fewer kills. Head coach Chris Tamas mentioned how important it is to balance their offense against good teams, but it didn’t come to fruition on Thursday.
“If you’re going to beat good teams, you don’t want the other team to just set up for one player,” Tamas said Wednesday. “That becomes an easier defensive system to make, and you just rely on execution.”
Tamas has also reiterated the importance of serving well throughout this season, and it could’ve been a potential area that Illinois attacked. But that didn’t happen as it ended up recording two service aces and six service errors, the same as Wisconsin.
The Badgers also soared ahead with 56 digs to the Illini’s 38. Another one-pronged effort fueled that low number. Sophomore defensive specialist Kenzie Cogan led Illinois with a career-high 10 digs. No other Illini could get in double digits in digs or impact another defensive aspect of the game.
All eyes on Michigan State
Conference play comes at teams hard and fast, as Illinois will travel back home for a Sunday matinee match. Michigan State (11-1, 1-1), fresh off taking care of state rivals Michigan (11-3, 1-2), will be in Champaign for the Pink Match.
The Big Ten is an ultra-competitive conference, and not being ranked does not represent the Spartans’ competitiveness. Their 4-1 away record speaks for itself as the Illini will walk into another challenge at Huff Hall Sunday at 1 p.m.
