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Illinois Volleyball Upset No. 15 Minnesota
The Illini won in four at Huff Hall for their first win over a ranked team this season. Purdue, Wisconsin and Indiana all held serve at home on the same night.
Illinois opened the Big Ten by beating No. 15 Minnesota 3-1 (25-22, 14-25, 25-18, 25-22) at Huff Hall on 24 September. It is their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
They have won five matches in a row now, and this is the one that will still be on the schedule card in November.
Three more ranked hosts won on the same night. No. 6 Wisconsin beat No. 20 Oregon 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 26-24, 25-14) in front of 7,103 in Madison.
No. 10 Purdue swept Maryland 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-9) and No. 18 Indiana swept UCLA 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-21). Ranks throughout are from the AVCA coaches poll published on 21 September.
Minnesota Made 25 Attacking Errors to 15
Minnesota put more balls on the floor than Illinois did and lost the match. The Gophers finished with 57 kills to Illinois's 48, from 149 swings against 139.
The gap sits in the other column. Minnesota made 25 attacking errors and Illinois 15. Those ten turn a nine-kill advantage into .215 against .237.
Paityn Chapman led Illinois with 15 kills, nine digs, three blocks and an ace. Kenna Phelan set 37 assists and dug ten, and Talita Goncalves dug 19 in the back row.
Mckenna Wucherer led Minnesota with 18 kills, Kelly Kinney had 15 and Carly Gilk 11. Stella Swenson set 44 assists and became the 13th Minnesota player to reach 1,500 in a career.
Illinois are 9-3 and 1-0 in the conference, and Minnesota are 6-3 and 0-1 in it.
There is not a second explanation anywhere in their box score, and Illinois did not need one to be there.
Wisconsin's Freshmen Were the Difference
Wisconsin lost the opening set 26-24 and had to take the third by the same margin to avoid going two sets to one down. They then won the fourth 25-14.
Kelly Sheffield, the head coach of Wisconsin, speaking after the match to John Steppe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"It's really kind of an interesting match because statistically we dominated the match. But yet we almost went down, 2-1."
The two players Sheffield credits for the difference are both freshmen. Audrey Flanagan hit .425 for 19 kills and Decelise Champion .429 for 16, on a night when Oregon's Sjakkie Donkers had 20 kills and lost.
Wisconsin were 6-4 going into the conference and neither freshman had played a Big Ten match before 24 September. On this evidence the four losses tell you less about them than the two teenagers do.
UCLA Led Indiana's First Set 23-20
Indiana trailed UCLA 23-20 at Wilkinson Hall, closed the first set on a 7-2 run to take it 27-25, and did not lose a set after that.
Steve Aird, the Indiana head coach, in the Indiana Daily Student's report of the match by Kasey Watkins.
"I think part of it is errors, I think part of its maturity and just making better decisions. But the other side of it is, it's the Big Ten and the teams are good. You know, you're not gonna sweep people often."
Aird had just swept somebody, and so had Purdue. Both of those sweeps were closer than a 3-0 reads, and his own side spent most of the first set behind.
Indiana hit .238 for 45 kills. Jaidyn Jager led them with 13 and Ella Boersema had ten, and Kiki Granberry blocked six, which was more than any other player on the floor.
Purdue Have Won 18 Sets in a Row
Maryland arrived at Holloway Gymnasium having won 27 consecutive sets and nine consecutive matches. Purdue took the first set 25-16, which ended the first of those, and the third 25-9, which ended the second.
Maryland hit .115 for the match against Purdue's .320, and .038 in that third set. Purdue's own release records the home side siding out on every attempt in it.
Addy Tindall, a freshman, led Purdue with 15 kills at .353. Six straight sweeps is 18 straight sets, and Purdue's release calls that the programme's second-longest run this century.
No. 6 Wisconsin come to Mackey Arena on Sunday 27 September, the second top-ten opponent Purdue have had this season.
Wisconsin needed four sets against a team ranked fourteen places below them. Purdue have not needed a fourth set in six matches.
We expect Purdue to win it in four sets, with the one they drop coming off the two freshmen Sheffield was talking about.
