There are highs and lows in every season for every team. Illinois (12-11, 7-7) is in the middle of a low. Going into the Huff Hall Centennial Celebration match, the Illini had lost five matches in a row by a combined set tally of 15-2.
The Illini brought energy and resilience into their match against No. 25 Penn State (14-10, 8-6), and it showed in every set’s final tally. The 3-1 result in favor of the Nittany Lions may look rough on the surface, but when dissected, the match was very close.
Set two chaos
The crowd of 3,753 witnessed high-level volleyball, especially at the end of a back-and-forth second set. It resembled the other three: powerful swings, thunderous blocks and electric post-play reactions. However, one thing made set two stand out from the others: the finish.
With the score tied at 23, the set went to sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot in the right pen. Philpot powered it down with a kill to give Illinois the lead. Seconds later, junior right-side hitter Kennedy Martin tied things up for the Nittany Lions. Senior libero Gillian Grimes followed with a service ace to give Penn State the one-point advantage.
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Senior outside hitter Averie Hernandez got the next kill through the block, evening the match again at 25. An unsung hero stepped up on the succeeding point: sophomore defensive specialist Kenzie Cogan. Phelan’s set went to the sophomore. Everyone paused as Cogan swung, and the ball fell off the block and out of bounds.
“I could not have imagined that happening,” Philpot said. “I saw the set go out to her, and I kind of held my breath a little bit, but you know, she was brave out there, and she took a big rip. She went up against a giant block and just gave it her all.”
Moments later, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Gabby Dean put the set to bed from the middle, and the crowd went crazy as the Illini knotted up the match at one set apiece. Those final six points encapsulated what Big Ten volleyball is all about.
“I think that’s what volleyball is,” said head coach Chris Tamas. “That’s why people love the game, and it’s fast-paced, a lot of good rallies, a lot of amazing athletic plays, and I think you saw all that.”
Defensive scheming
The last two weeks had not been the shiniest for Illinois’ defense. The other team could seemingly do whatever they wanted to every match, and it led to lots of big set losses. Tamas challenged his blockers to be better and believes the recent struggles were due to the team’s youth.
“We have to be able to continue to up our game as it goes along,” Tamas said. “I’m happy with the defensive effort and the pressure that we put on them, and we gave ourselves some opportunities.”
That effort led to seven team blocks, one of the higher marks as of late. Philpot found her groove again, blocking five Nittany Lion hits. Junior setter Kenna Phelan — who assisted on 50 kills in the match — also assisted on four blocks, while Dean made her first start of the season and rejected two attacks.
Three-headed monsters
Both sides had a trio of players who swung their way into double figures on the stat sheet. In the case of Penn State, it was a deadly attack.
Martin continued her dominance with 22 kills. Not to be outdone, senior middle blocker Maggie Mendelson and sophomore outside hitter Emmi Sellman registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
On the Illini side, three players each tallied 14 kills. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor de Boer didn’t start, but still managed double-digit kills.
Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore opposite Auburn Tomkinson remains the hot hand in the Illini rotation on the right side. Freshman outside hitter Alyssa Aguayo got back on track, coming back strong from a tough outing against No. 1 Nebraska.
Up next
Illinois concludes its homestand this week with matches against Washington (10-14, 5-9) on Friday and No. 11 Wisconsin (18-4, 11-3) on Saturday.
