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Illini Sweep Coyotes to Capture Creighton Classic Crown
The
No. 16 Fighting Illini closed nonconference play with a 3-0 victory
over the potent defensive stylings of South Dakota. Both teams entered
the match 2-0 on the weekend, as the Illini claimed the Creighton
Classic title and a perfect segue into the Big Ten season with a win in
straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-22). With the win, the Illini finish
8-3 in nonconference play, while the Coyotes close out at an even 6-6. "I
thought it was a good team effort," said head coach Kevin Hambly.
"Obviously, some players stepped up and did a nice job. Lizzie did a
good job, I thought Brandi played good defense, and I thought overall
we executed a very good game plan against a tough team to play against.
They're really hard and they do some things that are different that
present a challenge, things that we're not typically used to seeing. I
thought we responded well and I thought we brought the fight, and it
was good to see us close one of these out. "That
was a big focus of ours; thinking hopefully we can get up 2-0 and let's
see if we can get better at the closeout set. Despite the score being a
little closer (in the third), I thought we had good focus and we came
out and attacked them. "(The
Coyotes) went after it and they served tough. They did what they had to
do to try to win that match, and we had a good response, so I was proud
of the team."
Liz McMahon and Morganne Criswell both
bounced back from a rough morning against Colorado to hit over .400
with 13 and nine kills, respectively, while Jocelynn
Birks tallied eight. Brandi Donnelly paced the defense
with 17 digs, and Danielle Davis wasn't far behind with 14 to go
along with a service ace. Maddie Mayers stuffed four blocks
and landed two aces in her first start of the season, and Allison
Palmer had an ace and 16 assists. Alexis Viliunas led
the team with 20 assists to go with seven digs, and McMahon
and Katie Stadick led the Illini at the net with five blocks
apiece. "Jocelynn
was dominant this morning and she struggled a little bit this afternoon
with this team," said Hambly. "They had a plan for her, and we're going
to get that at times. But we don't need one person to carry us and it's
nice to have that. "I
just think we have a TEAM, where if someone's struggling, they can play
their role. I thought Maddie came in and didn't hit great, but I
thought blocking-wise she did a magnificent job and filled the role we
wanted her to do. That's what we're looking for out of everybody." Kendall
Kritenbrink was the sole Coyote with double-digit kills, leading USD
with 10 kills and 16 digs for a double-double. Audrey Reeg followed
with nine kills but also made nine errors, while Sydney Dimke matched
her nine kills while hitting a team-best .333. Setter Brittany Jessen
tallied 27 assists and six kills, and libero Riley Haug had a
match-high 18 digs. The
first set was neck-and-neck early, but Davis served out a solid run,
including her fourth ace of the weekend, to lift the Illini to a 15-8
lead. The Coyotes took advantage of some Illini errors to pull back
within four, 17-13, but that was as close as they would get as the
Illini took the first set, 25-18. McMahon and Criswell were the driving
forces for Illinois in the frame, combining for 11 kills on 16
errorless swings.
The South Dakota defense extended rallies to force
Illinois errors early in the second, going ahead 4-1, but a serving run
by Palmer tied the score at four. Mayers then took control behind the
service line, sending the Illini on a 5-0 run with the help of her
first ace of the year to put Illinois ahead, 16-10, and a pair of
Coyote attack errors closed the frame in Illinois' favor, 25-15. "(Maddie's)
got a great serve," said Hambly. "When she served last year, we scored
a lot of points...She can play, she's a volleyball player, she can
handle the ball, so it's fun to see her make some plays back there in
the back court. She had a big dig there in the tight set at the end of
the third, and I think you'll see more of that stuff in the future
moving forward." The
third set was a back-and-forth battle featuring six lead changes, but a
service run by Melissa Firtko pulled the Coyotes out in front, 16-12.
Mayers used an ace to pull Illinois back within one, 16-17, and a
clutch kill by McMahon tied the score at 22. A Coyote error put
Illinois back on top, and another McMahon swing set up Illini match
point, 24-22. Mayers then finished out the match with a solo block on a
Kritenbrink tip at the net to win the third, 25-22, and complete the
match and weekend sweep.
Brandi Donnelly earned her first
career All-Tournament Most Valuable Player award after manning the
Illini backcourt with 59 digs, averaging 5.36 per set. Liz
McMahon made her fourth consecutive All-Tournament team, hitting
.256 with 33 kills on the weekend, and a solid overall performance in
the middle by Katie Stadick, who averaged 1.55 blocks per set
while hitting .310 with 18 kills, led to the sophomore's first career
all-tournament nod. "It's
cool to see (Brandi) get some love," said Hambly. "She played great
defense, and think it's the defense that stood out in all the matches.
Passing-wise, she was a little down today, but I thought we gave her a
lot of responsibility, and she took full advantage of it and made the
plays. She's developing." After
nearly a full month on the road, the Illini return to Huff Hall next
weekend to open Big Ten play against the newest members of the league,
Rutgers and Maryland. The conference season kicks off at 7 p.m. on
Friday, Sept. 26, against Maryland.
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