Saturday, September 15
Champaign, Ill.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
8-4
1
at
3
Illinois
11-0
1
2
3
4
F
#10 Creighton
25
21
21
23
1
#8 Illinois
19
25
25
25
3
Taryn Kloth
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
#8 Illinois Outlasts #10 CU Volleyball To Win Illini Classic Title
9/15/2018 9:17:00 PM | Volleyball
Taryn Kloth's 23 kills and Brittany Witt's 26 digs aren't enough for CU
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 10 Creighton Volleyball team closed out non-conference play with a 3-1 loss at unbeaten and eighth-ranked Illinois on Saturday night in the final match of the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill.
Scores of the match in favor of Illinois were 19-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23.
"Illinois is a great team with one of the best setters in the country and we knew that going in," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "I thought we were in the match the whole night. In games 2, 3 and 4 we gave up runs early in the games that helped dictate who won in the end, but I thought we showed great fight. I told the team that they showed what we're capable of and now need to focus on getting better so we can peak late in the season. The season is a marathon and not a sprint, and I can't wait to get back in the gym to continue improving."
Creighton (8-4) never trailed in the opening set, routing the host Illini thanks to seven kills by Taryn Kloth. CU opened a 6-1 lead to start the match, expanded it to 16-8, and clinched the 25-19 victory on an Illinois service error. The Fighting Illini had nine attack errors in the first set alone after having just three all morning in a three-set win over Lipscomb earlier in the day.
Illinois (11-0) evened the match with a second set victory. Three consecutive kills by Megan Ballenger gave Creighton a 9-8 lead, but it was short-lived as the Illini responded with an 8-1 run to take command. Creighton would narrow an 18-11 deficit to within 21-20, but could not draw even and dropped a 25-21 decision. Illinois hit .323 in the second set and held CU to .103 hitting while outblocking CU 4-0 in the frame.
The Illinois block proved too much to overcome for CU in the third set as well, as the Illini won another 25-21 decision to move ahead 2-1 in the contest. Just like the third set, CU fell behind by a couple at 17-13 and could not answer. Jordyn Poulter and Ali Bastianelli sealed the set with a block.
CU trailed 17-12 in the fourth set before Samantha Bohnet's 7-0 serving run put the Jays in front. The Illini fought back to tie the score at 20-all, and with the score even at 23 would score the final two points to take the victory. Senior Jaali Winters became CU's all-time leader in attack attempts (4,354) during the final set, passing Leah Ratzlaff (4,349 from 2002-05) in the process.
Kloth led CU with 23 kills while Brittany Witt had a season-best 26 digs. Winters had her 50th career double-double as a Bluejay, finishing with 11 kills and 10 digs.
Jacqueline Quade topped Illinois with 21 kills, and Jordyn Poulter added 45 assists and 15 digs.
The Illini finished with a 14-2 advantage in blocks, which proved to be the difference. Illinois also held narrow leads in digs (62-60) and hitting percentage (.241 to .211), while both teams had five aces and seven service errors. CU led 57-55 in kills.
Creighton opens its defense of four straight BIG EAST Conference titles next weekend when it returns home to host DePaul on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 21 Marquette on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NOTES: Creighton's eight wins are its most in non-conference play since 2013 ... Creighton dropped to 268-30 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when winning set one ... Taryn Kloth moved into 10th in CU history in attack attempts with 2,914 ... Illinois leads the series with Creighton, 5-0 ... Brittany Witt has had 10 or more digs in 15 straight matches, and Jaali Winters has had 10 or more digs in 10 straight matches ... Brittany Witt moved from ninth place to sixth place on Creighton's all-time digs list with 1,231, passing Melanie Jereb, Melissa Weisensee and Julianne Mandolfo ... Creighton fell to 2-1 all-time in matches pitting a pair of top-10 teams against each other ... Taryn Kloth's 23 kills were her fourth match this season with 23 or more. She had entered her senior season with a career-high of 23 kills ... No All-Tournament Team was selected for the Illini Classic.
Scores of the match in favor of Illinois were 19-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23.
"Illinois is a great team with one of the best setters in the country and we knew that going in," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "I thought we were in the match the whole night. In games 2, 3 and 4 we gave up runs early in the games that helped dictate who won in the end, but I thought we showed great fight. I told the team that they showed what we're capable of and now need to focus on getting better so we can peak late in the season. The season is a marathon and not a sprint, and I can't wait to get back in the gym to continue improving."
Creighton (8-4) never trailed in the opening set, routing the host Illini thanks to seven kills by Taryn Kloth. CU opened a 6-1 lead to start the match, expanded it to 16-8, and clinched the 25-19 victory on an Illinois service error. The Fighting Illini had nine attack errors in the first set alone after having just three all morning in a three-set win over Lipscomb earlier in the day.
Illinois (11-0) evened the match with a second set victory. Three consecutive kills by Megan Ballenger gave Creighton a 9-8 lead, but it was short-lived as the Illini responded with an 8-1 run to take command. Creighton would narrow an 18-11 deficit to within 21-20, but could not draw even and dropped a 25-21 decision. Illinois hit .323 in the second set and held CU to .103 hitting while outblocking CU 4-0 in the frame.
The Illinois block proved too much to overcome for CU in the third set as well, as the Illini won another 25-21 decision to move ahead 2-1 in the contest. Just like the third set, CU fell behind by a couple at 17-13 and could not answer. Jordyn Poulter and Ali Bastianelli sealed the set with a block.
CU trailed 17-12 in the fourth set before Samantha Bohnet's 7-0 serving run put the Jays in front. The Illini fought back to tie the score at 20-all, and with the score even at 23 would score the final two points to take the victory. Senior Jaali Winters became CU's all-time leader in attack attempts (4,354) during the final set, passing Leah Ratzlaff (4,349 from 2002-05) in the process.
Kloth led CU with 23 kills while Brittany Witt had a season-best 26 digs. Winters had her 50th career double-double as a Bluejay, finishing with 11 kills and 10 digs.
Jacqueline Quade topped Illinois with 21 kills, and Jordyn Poulter added 45 assists and 15 digs.
The Illini finished with a 14-2 advantage in blocks, which proved to be the difference. Illinois also held narrow leads in digs (62-60) and hitting percentage (.241 to .211), while both teams had five aces and seven service errors. CU led 57-55 in kills.
Creighton opens its defense of four straight BIG EAST Conference titles next weekend when it returns home to host DePaul on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 21 Marquette on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NOTES: Creighton's eight wins are its most in non-conference play since 2013 ... Creighton dropped to 268-30 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when winning set one ... Taryn Kloth moved into 10th in CU history in attack attempts with 2,914 ... Illinois leads the series with Creighton, 5-0 ... Brittany Witt has had 10 or more digs in 15 straight matches, and Jaali Winters has had 10 or more digs in 10 straight matches ... Brittany Witt moved from ninth place to sixth place on Creighton's all-time digs list with 1,231, passing Melanie Jereb, Melissa Weisensee and Julianne Mandolfo ... Creighton fell to 2-1 all-time in matches pitting a pair of top-10 teams against each other ... Taryn Kloth's 23 kills were her fourth match this season with 23 or more. She had entered her senior season with a career-high of 23 kills ... No All-Tournament Team was selected for the Illini Classic.
Team Stats
CU
ILL
Kills
57
55
Errors
25
20
Attempts
152
145
Hitting %
.211
.241
Points
64.0
74.0
Assists
51
53
Aces
5
5
Blocks
2.0
14.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
23
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
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