Oct. 7, 2009

Champaign, Ill. -

Complete Match Notes in PDF Format

The Skinny
Illinois takes a 2-2 Big Ten record and 10-3 overall mark into this weekend's matches with Purdue and Indiana.
• Illinois is one of five Big Ten teams in the top 20 -- Penn State is No. 1, Minnesota No. 5, Michigan No. 8, Illinois No. 12 and Michigan State -- No. 18.
• Illinois' only three losses this year have come to teams currently ranked -- Florida State (now 19), Penn State (1), and Michigan State (now 18).
• The Illini have two wins over ranked opponents so far this season -- a 3-1 victory over then No. 16 Saint Louis and a 3-2 win over then No. 6 Michigan.

TV: Friday's match will be shown tape delayed on ESPN2 Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Karch Kiraly (analysis) providing the call.

Radio: Both matches can be heard live on fightingillini.com and AM 1400 (WDWS) with Dave Loane (play-by-play) and Mike Trame (analysis).

Notes on the win over Michigan
• Illinois defeated a top-10 opponent for the first time since Sept. 11, 2004 when the Illini defeated USC in five sets. The last time Illinois had defeated a top 10 opponent on the road was Oct. 12, 2002, a five-set victory at No. 6 Minnesota.
• Illinois played its first two five-set matches of the season last weekend at Michigan and Michigan State.
• The last time Illinois came from two sets down to win was Aug. 30, 2008, when the Illini came back to defeat No. 11 Oregon

Three-headed monster
Laura DeBruler led Illinois in kills in the first nine matches of the season. In those matches, DeBruler tallied 143 kills; Michelle Bartsch 82 kills and Kylie McCulley 68 kills.
• In the last five matches, Bartsch has led the Illini in kills three times, DeBruler once and McCulley once. In those matches, Bartsch has 70 kills, DeBruler 68 and McCulley 60.

McCulley shines vs. Michigan
Senior Kylie McCulley paced Illinois offensively over the weekend with 19 kills vs. Michigan State and 22 kills with just four hitting errors against Michigan. McCulley had five kills in the fifth and deciding set. The 22 kills tied a career high.
• McCulley was hampered by a foot injury most of last year. This limited her practice time. This season the Clinton, Ill., native has shown no ill-affects from the injury and it has shown in her performance.

Series Notes:
• Illinois holds a 51-15 series advantage over Indiana all-time. The Illini have won 11 of the last 13 meetings, including both matches last year. Illinois won in four sets in Bloomington and in three sets in Champaign.
• Illinois holds a 38-32 series lead over Purdue. The Illini have a three-match winning streak over the Boilermakers. Prior to that Purdue had won six of the previous seven meetings.

Huff Hall magic
Illinois has a 4-1 record at Huff Hall this season and a 17-4 mark at home over the past two seasons.
• In the years that Illinois has qualified for the NCAA Tournament, Illinois has a 216-44 home record (.831).

More on Purdue
• Purdue has had quite a run under head coach Dave Shondell. The Boilermakers have advanced to five straight NCAA Tournaments after having had nine losing seasons in the previous 10 years.
• This year the Boilers suffered heavy losses to graduation, returning just three of seven starters from 2008. Despite that fact, Purdue (9-6) has been competitive with four of its six losses coming in five sets. Purdue has lost its last three Big Ten matches and at 9-6 is looking to get the conference season jump started this weekend.

More on Indiana
• At 13-5, Indiana is one of the most improved teams in the Big Ten this season. The Hoosiers are looking for their first winning season since 2002 and their first winning Big Ten season since 1999. Indiana has just four NCAA appearances and two NCAA tournament victories.
• Indiana is 45-37 under third-year coach Sherri Dunbar. Four of the Hoosiers fives losses this season have come to 2008 NCAA Tournament teams. The Hoosiers have defeated No. 16 Michigan State and Purdue in the conference. Indiana won nine Big Ten matches last season after winning just 16 in the last six seasons combined. The Hoosiers are receiving votes in this week's Top 25.