No. 9 Illinois Volleyball Team Defeated by No. 19 Minnesota, 3-2
GOPHERS COMEBACK BLEMISHES SENIOR SENDOFF
Minnesota fights off four match points to win in five sets
Champaign, Ill. – The ninth-ranked Illini came oh so close to having the perfect sendoff for a special group of seniors. A highly touted foursome of Laura DeBruler, Johannah Bangert, Hillary Haen, and Nicole Kump were honored after the match. The group has helped Illinois rise to Big Ten championship and Final Four contender conversation. Coach Kevin Hambly said his team found some things that will be beneficial down the stretch and played at a high level. However, leading the match two sets to one and holding on to four match points up 24-20 in the fourth set against 19th-ranked Minnesota, the Illini couldn’t finish it out.
The Gophers scored 13 of the next 14 points, winning set four 26-24 and taking a commanding 7-1 lead in the fifth. Although Illinois closed to within 9-6, in the end it was too little too late for a stunned Illinois team, who fell 25-22, 18-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-9. The loss ended Illinois’ 22-match home court winning streak, tied for the longest in the 21 seasons at Huff Hall, and drops the Illini to second place in the Big Ten.
“We got anxious to win it instead of just playing ball,” said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly. “In that set we played great, but we got anxious. We thought now we got to hit it harder, we have to do something more instead of just hitting a similar shot somewhere where they are not. They tried to do too much.”
Michelle Bartsch had her second straight complete match, tallying 18 kills and 14 digs one night after a 21-kill, 13-dig performance. The Illini also had as offensive night from their middles. Sophomore Erin Johnson had a career-high 15 kills while hitting .407. Bangert was equally as imposing with 11 kills and five blocks while hitting .450. Freshman Jazmine Orozco had some big swings as well with 12 kills and six digs while junior Colleen Ward’s 13 kills and 12 digs gave Illinois five different players with double-digit kills.
“Overall I think it was a good match until that fifth set,” said senior Hillary Haen, who had 54 assists in her final Illinois regular season home match. “Up until then we really challenged them. They came out on fire and we weren’t quite ready to fight back.”
“We played at as high of a level as we have really since (All-American) Laura (DeBruler) went down,” Hambly said. “We were aggressive in all aspects and matched their intensity.”
Both teams set the tone early in the match, hitting over .300 in the first set. Bangert had five kills in six swings and Ward gave Illinois an imposing presence with six kills on the outside.
After a narrow loss in the set, the Illini slowed down the Minnesota attack in set two, forcing the Gophers to hit just .138 in that frame while maintaining high efficiency themselves (.371). Illinois used a 10-3 run to take an 18-11 lead.
Sets three and four followed a similar script. Each had a big Illinois run to take control. The Illini served aggressive and attacked Minnesota with aggression as well. They had four of their seven aces in set three, a pair from freshman libero Jennifer Bonilla (26 digs), who served five straight points in giving Illinois an 11-6 advantage. The Gophers came back in that set as well, tying it at 22-22 before the Illini eked out the win.
In set four, the Illini broke open a 12-12 score with a 7-2 run, making it 19-14 Illini. Kills by Orozco, Bangert and Johnson and a stuff block from Ward and Bangert gave Illinois that 24-20 lead and the crowd rose to its feet for match point. That’s when the unthinkable happened. Minnesota middle blocker Tori Dixon had three kills and a solo block as Minnesota won six straight points to end the set, then scored seven of the first eight points in the deciding fifth set.
The Gophers middles were equally as strong. All-American Lauren Gibbemeyer had 18 kills, hit .469 and added five blocks. Dixon, meanwhile, hit .414 with 14 kills. Ashley Whitman tied for the team lead with 18 kills as well.
The victory would have kept Illinois (22-6, 14-4) in a tie with Penn State (25-4, 15-3) atop the Big Ten standings, instead the Illini enter the final weekend of play one match down with two to play. The Lions play at Minnesota (22-8, 12-6) and Iowa next weekend while the Illini travel to Indiana and Purdue.
“The season is not over,” Hambly said. “We still have more matches ahead of us. And Penn State has to play those guys at their place. There is a chance. We have to keep our heads up and go play Indiana and go play Purdue and see if we can pull something out. Take care of what we can take care of and let the rest of it come.”
