Illinois (10-5, 5-1) finished its East Coast road trip 2-0 after a sweep against Rutgers (10-8, 1-5) Saturday evening. It began the road stand Friday evening with a 3-1 win over Maryland (7-9, 0-6).
The Illini have now won six out of their last seven games and are on a three-game winning streak. Their 5-1 start to conference play is their best since 2011. Illinois maintained composure through tough sets to secure the shutdown victories.
Auburn Tom-kill-some
A majority of Friday’s first set was an ordinary dogfight. Both teams exchanged blows until Illinois went on a 5-0 run to go up 21-18. The Terps came out of a timeout guns-a-blazing, winning the set with an 8-3 run. The run included five Illini errors and a Terp ace. It was the first and only set the Illini lost all weekend.
Redshirt sophomore opposite Auburn Tomkinson carried the offense with eight kills of the team’s 14. She finished the match with a career-high 17 kills and six blocks. Earlier this week, Tomkinson talked about wanting to make a statement, and she did just that.
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“We’re coming out with everything we’ve got,” Tomkinson said Wednesday. “We want to prove that we’re as strong as we’ve been in the past and will continue to be moving forward.”
Too many errors
Illinois made nine errors on Maryland’s 23 points in the second set. The Illini needed an emphatic 8-1 scoring run to claim the set and even the match. On that night, the Illini made 41 errors to the Terps’ 40. Their strong offense alongside the sloppy Terps ensured a 3-1 win, but it might have been a different story against a more disciplined team.
Going for service aces has been a key element of the Illini game plan this season, but that also faltered Friday evening. The team committed 15 service errors against just eight aces. In addition to Tomkinson, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor de Boer and sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot each racked up 11 kills. This kept the team afloat despite the error-prone night.
de Boer stands tall
Illinois put up another powerhouse offensive performance Saturday to earn its fifth sweep win of the season. de Boer was too hot to handle for Rutgers, as she tallied 16 kills at a 0.379 hitting percentage.
The outside hitter has now had double-digit kills in 13 of Illinois’ 15 matches this season. Her strong play has largely fueled the Illini’s powerful start to conference play. She’s registered over 10 kills in every Big Ten match this season. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter has been Illinois’ premier offensive weapon this season.
Night night, Knights
The Scarlet Knights tried to stick with the Illini but always seemed to be one step behind. Rutgers managed to take the lead only three times the entire game and never led across the entirety of the second and third sets.
The Illini blocking line that has been taking shape with Tomkinson and graduate middle blocker Kayla Burbage was a defining force again. Freshman outside hitter Alyssa Aguayo tallied 11 kills across the match, trailing only de Boer.
Down in Ohio
The Illini will bring their road trip to the Midwest this week. Illinois will head to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State (3-11, 0-6) on Friday. There are no easy games in the Big Ten, but this is a game the Illini should win. The Buckeyes are winless in conference play and sit at the bottom of the Big Ten standings.
Illinois will return to the Land of Lincoln on Sunday afternoon to face Northwestern (12-6, 2-4) to conclude the long road trip.
