Fighting Illini Drop Big Ten Finale at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. – Illinois volleyball closed out its regular season with a straight-set loss to Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday night.

The Fighting Illini dropped to 15-15 overall and 10-10 against Big Ten opponents. The Wildcats improved to 18-14 overall and 7-13 in league play with the Senior Day victory. 

Diana Brown started the match with a pair of aces for the Illini but the lead was short-lived as a 3-0 turn favored Northwestern, putting the Fighting Illini behind 11-9. After going point-for-point with the Wildcats, back-to-back service aces by Jessica Nunge helped the Illini build a 15-13 advantage, forcing Northwestern to burn a timeout. The Orange and Blue compiled a three-point lead following a kill by Raina Terry, but Northwestern charged back, tying that match at 21 apiece before Illinois used a timeout of its own. Rylee Hinton helped fend off set point, tying the frame at 24 all, but the Wildcats closed out the set with two-straight kills to take the set 26-24.

In the second stanza, the Illini continued to struggle, falling behind 5-0. The Illini chipped away at the advantage and a block by Kennedy Collins and Nunge put the Orange and Blue behind by just a pair, 12-10. A late 3-0 run that included two aces for Northwestern led to a timeout by the Fighting Illini while trailing 18-13. The Illini continued to falter with the team’s final timeout coming at 22-16. The Wildcats outscored Illinois 3-1 to close out the 25-17 defeat in the second set for the Orange and Blue.

Needing to rebound in the third frame, the Illini kept the game tight early, with a Kayla Burbage kill knotting the set at seven apiece. However, Northwestern slowly pulled away with an ace by the opposition leaving the Illini behind 15-11. The Orange and Blue used a timeout trailing Northwestern 19-14, hoping to stall the Wildcats. Hinton added a kill out of the break, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome, and the Illini fell 25-18 in the final stanza.

Terry paced the Fighting Illini squad with nine kills. Brown tallied a double-double, the 54th of her career, when she logged 17 assists and 10 digs. Collins logged a team-high four blocks.

Notes:

Starters: Kennedy Collins, Rylee Hinton, Diana Brown, Jessica…