Illinois volleyball finish road trip on high note

Illinois+Morganne+Criswell+rises+for+a+spike+during+the+game+against+Rutgers+at+George+Huff+Hall%2C+on+Sept.+27.+The+Illini+won+3-0.+Criswell+was+crucial+in+the+win+over+the+Huskers.

Illinois’ Morganne Criswell rises for a spike during the game against Rutgers at George Huff Hall, on Sept. 27. The Illini won 3-0. Criswell was crucial in the win over the Huskers.

The Illinois volleyball team finished off its longest road trip in Big Ten play Saturday with a hard-fought victory over Nebraska.

In the Illini’s fourth consecutive match on the road, three of them coming against ranked foes, Illinois (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten) finished out close sets in a four-set victory over Nebraska (11-6, 5-3). The victory marked the Illini’s first victory over the Huskers since 1992.

Senior outside hitter Morganne Criswell put together her second consecutive strong performance after playing only one set last Saturday against Penn State. Criswell led the Illini with 21 kills — tying a career-high — while hitting .294 after posting 17 kills against Iowa on Wednesday.

“She was hitting without worry of being blocked or going out of bounds, she was going for it,” head coach Kevin Hambly said. “I liked the way she was going after it. She was really good out of system, with balls all over the net, she took some big cuts.”

Jocelynn Birks chipped in 19 kills and 13 digs for her fifth consecutive double-double.

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Alicia Ostrander led Nebraska with 19 kills — five above her season-high. The Illini shut down the Huskers’ top outside hitter, Kadie Rolfzen, for much of the match. The sophomore, who ranks sixth in the conference for kills, was held to 12 kills with 10 errors on the match.

The two teams were even for much of the match, with the deciding plays coming at the end of sets. With the first set tied at 22 apiece, the Illini took three of the final four points of the set with two kills and a block. Illinois led 1-0 in the first set but wouldn’t grab the lead again until a kill from Birks gave the Illini a 21-20 lead.

The third set followed a similar narrative as neither team led by more than three points either way. Nebraska fought off two set points to tie the game at 24, then stifled another set point to bring the score to 25-25. The Illini stepped up in crunch time, again, as Liz McMahon put down a kill and an Ostrander hitting error ended the set.

“We’re used to being in close sets,” Criswell said. “I think we were more calm in big situations than they were.”

The stat sheet reflected how close the teams were. The teams had an identical number of digs and blocks, while the Illini barely outhit the Huskers, .228 to .224.

The Illini ended their current road trip at 3-1, with victories at Penn State, Iowa and Nebraska. However, it was the one loss to Ohio State on Oct. 8 — where the Illini couldn’t convert four match points — that Hambly and the team will think about the most.

“I don’t know that we’re all elated, we expect to win matches,” Hambly said. “If I sit back and reflect on it, no we’re not happy. We want to win all of our matches.”

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.