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Women's Volleyball
Young Illini Almost Upset No. 22 LSU in Five-Game Thriller
Aug. 31, 2007
HOUSTON, Texas - The Illinois volleyball team put on a show for enthusiastic fans as it took on No. 22 LSU at Fox Gym in the opening match of the Mizuno Invitational II. The young Illini pushed the nationally ranked Tigers to the limit, but fell just short in the 3-2 loss, 30-27, 26-30, 30-28, 22-30, 15-11. Freshman Laura DeBruler led a potent Illinois offense that included four players in double-figures, while sophomore libero Ashley Edinger picked-up a career-high 32 digs in the effort. The story of the match had to be the defensive prowess of Edinger and the Illini against one of the top teams in the country. The Michigan City, Ind., native led an effort that included a season team-high 72 digs for the match, helping the Illini outperform the Tigers, who notched 65. The Illini coupled their defense with an offense that hit a .237 attack percentage to just a .205 mark for the Tigers on the day. Illinois also edged LSU in the kills department as well, tallying 68 to just 62 from the Tigers, but it was LSU who took advantage of runs at key moments in the five-game thriller to pull out the slight victory. Outside hitter DeBruler paced the Fighting Illini offense with 17 kills, falling one short of LSU's Kyna Washington, who finished with a match-high 18. Sophomore outside hitter Kylie McCulley also pounded down 16 of her own to complete the outside duo for the Illini. The youngsters were followed by senior middle blocker Vicki Brown, who downed 13 kills to combine with her nine blocks, while senior right-side hitter Stefanie Alde rounded out the performance with 14. Junior setter Lizzie Bazzetta finished the match with a double-double, tallying 32 assists and 12 digs, while freshman setter Hillary Haen added 15 assists to round out the setting duties. Edinger also pitched in nine assists of her own to go with her one ace. The match opened with both teams shaking off early tournament jitters as they exchanged service errors to get the contest going. With a total of 11 ties and four lead changes in the opening game, it was LSU who snuck away with the victory, 30-27, to take an early advantage. In game two, the Illini began to light up the net with their suffocating block and oppressive offense, as they stormed out to a quick 10-1 lead in the affair. Despite the Tigers chipping away at the lead and taking a brief 17-15 lead of their own, it was Illinois who prevailed in game two to level the match at 1-all. As both teams raised their games with every serve that crossed the net, Illinois and LSU proceeded to trade leads in game three, with UI holding the slim edge at 15-14. The remaining script of the game, however, fell in the favor of LSU, who got behind the hot hand of their star Washington. The junior outside hitter dropped two of her aces in the third game and knocked down seven of her match-high 18 kills to give the Tigers the 30-28 win. Showing a revitalized spirit in the fourth, the Illini were determined to take the match to a fifth and final game as they stormed out to a commanding 24-17 lead. Scoring six of the next 11 points, Illinois ran away with a 30-22 victory to take all the momentum into the fifth game.
In the fifth, with no team showing an advantage, Illinois and LSU were neck and neck at 8-all to keep fans on the edge of their seats. With both teams refusing to give up on any play, neither team could get a hold on the game as they traded kills at 10-all. However, the match began to unravel for the Illini, who fell victim to untimely receiving errors to allow the Tigers to go on a four-point run en route to the 15-11 game-five win. Illinois returns to the courts tonight at 7 p.m. at Fox Gym, as it takes on the Mizuno Invitational II host Rice Owls in its final match of the evening. The Illini then conclude the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 1, as they face Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 2:30 p.m. CT. |
