No. 16 Huskies Topple No. 5 Illinois In Five

Friday, September 6

Iowa City, IA

2:00 PM

University of Washington

3-1

Illinois

2-1

Washington

Illinois

September 06, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score PDF (Unofficial)

By: UW Athletic Communications

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The 16th-ranked Husky volleyball team took an impressive step forward today, digging in for a comeback victory over fifth-ranked Illinois today in the first match of the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Trailing two sets to one, the Huskies rallied behind senior Kara Bajema's 19 kills and a near perfect attacking match from senior Avie Niece, completing a 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10 win.

Washington (3-1) got a measure of revenge against the Fighting Illini (2-1) after Illinois had defeated the Dawgs each of the past two seasons. The win over the No. 5 squad in the nation is the highest-ranked win for the Huskies since they upset No. 2 Stanford in November of 2017. It's also the highest win for the Huskies in the non-conference season since a win over No. 4 Wisconsin back in 2014.

The Huskies never trailed in the first set, but Illinois, which reached the Final Four last year, controlled the next two sets. Washington dug out of an early fourth set hole with a big run and then held on after Illinois made a late push. In the fifth set, the Huskies broke a close one open with a huge 7-0 run to get to match point at 14-8 and closed it out on their third chance.

The Dawgs come back to hand #??5?? Illinois its first loss of the year, 15-10 in the fifth set!#PointHuskies pic.twitter.com/v2o1lsauK9
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 6, 2019

Head Coach Keegan Cook said he told the team that it had to be really good for a long period of time to get the win tonight. "Illinois is an impressive team, well-coached, and they keep pressure on you all the time, and you have to match that," said Cook. "I was really impressed in the fourth and fifth sets that we were able to do that after tough second and third sets. We came out of the gate pretty aggressive and I liked how we looked, and I was getting pretty fired up for them, and Kara Bajema showed some good leadership and told me to calm down and let them do their thing. She certainly helped us get over the top there in that fifth set."

The Huskies got 19 kills from Bajema while Niece killed eight of her 10 swings to hit .800 and added seven blocks. Sophomore Ella May Powell had her first double-double of the season with 43 assists and 15 digs, and Claire Hoffman and Samantha Drechsel finished with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

The Huskies won despite being outhit by the Fighting Illini, .288 to .220. The Huskies won the serving battle with five aces to three for Illinois while Illinois missed 16 serves compared to just five for the Dawgs.

"Illinois was another great blocking team, and it's important that we play these matches, and continue to improve against great blocks. Getting kills off-speed and off the block and not just swinging hard. I thought serving-wise we got back to closer to our identity, and Maria Bogomolova and Ella were a part of that. Ella did a really nice job in that fifth set keeping some pressure on their outside hitters."

UP NEXT: The Huskies will be back in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena tomorrow night to take on the host Iowa Hawkeyes in the finale of the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge. First serve will be 5 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Central time and the match will be live streamed on BTN Plus and Flovolleyball.

SET 1: A perfect pass from Crenshaw let Powell set Niece on a slide for the first point of the match. Powell served an ace and Bajema had a kill in transition as the Huskies kept an opening run going to 4-0. Drechsel got her first kill off the block and out, and Hoffman subbed in and finished from the left for 6-2. Sanders pummeled a slide kill for 9-6 Dawgs. Drechsel hammered two in a row from the left and right in serve-receive to keep UW siding out and then McPherson fired an ace for 13-10 Dawgs. Bajema rolled one over the block from the back row, and a Hoffman tip fell for 15-12 Huskies. The first block by the Dawgs was a solo stuff at the left pin from Bajema and that pushed it to a 17-12 Husky lead. Powell dumped for a kill for 18-12. Illinois fought back with three straight to force UW's first timeout at 18-15. Bajema took three swings to win a big rally out of the break. Niece then pounced on an overpass off a Powell serve for 20-15. The Illini made another run, cutting it to 20-19 and the Huskies took their last timeout. Illinois made an error trying to free ball on the next play and Bajema then hit an ace for 22-19 and Illinois responded with a timeout. Illinois sided out but Niece answered with a quick strike from Powell for 23-20. Alternating service errors got UW to set point at 24-21. Illinois saved the first, but Sanders stood up to a quick try from Illinois on the next point and stuffed it for the 25-22 win. The Huskies never trailed in the set.

SET 2: Drechsel collected the first UW kill for 1-1 in set two. At 3-4, the Huskies let an overpass fall for a free Illinois point, and the error compounded in a couple more for Illinois and UW needed timeout down 3-7. Cailin Onosko laid out for a dig into the net that Powell played to Bajema for a big point to make it 7-9. Niece got a stuff on the left to pull UW within a point at 12-13. Illinois opened things back up with a 3-0 run before Drechsel ended it from the right for 14-17. Drechsel then served an ace and a Husky near-block forced an Illinois double-contact as the Huskies were on a 3-0 run to force an Illinois timeout at 16-17. UW had a swing to tie it but was blocked for 16-18, and Illinois followed with two more for the third straight 3-0 run, and UW now needed its last timeout. Hoffman broke that run off the block and Bajema added another for 18-20, but Illinois answered with another 3-0 run for 18-23 and it went on to win the frame, 20-25.

SET 3: Niece and Bajema had a big stuff early in the third and a Drechsel right side blast made it 3-2 Dawgs. Powell threw one down to even it up at 7-7. Niece and Drechsel built a wall for 9-9. At 11-all Illinois scored three straight to force a UW timeout. The deficit increased to six at 13-19 and UW used its last timeout. Niece put away a Powell set after a perfect Crenshaw pass for 17-22. A McPherson ace closed the gap to 19-23 and Illinois called time. Illinois got the sideout out of the break and went on to another 20-25 set win to take the 2-1 lead.

SET 4: An early Illinois stuff and a Husky error put them in a 1-4 hole before Drechsel got a right side kill. Sanders put a block down for 3-6 Illinois. Illinois misfired a couple to get UW back within a point at 6-7. Maria Bogomolova served and dug one that led to an Illinois error for 8-all, and Niece tipped over the block and down to get the Huskies back in front at 9-8. Bogomolova then served up an ace for 11-8 and Illinois took timeout with UW on a 5-0 run. A dig from Onosko and a transition Bajema kill kept it going out of the break. Bajema then pushed one up the sideline for another point, and Bogomolova's next serve was overpassed and Bajema rose up to kill it for 14-8 and Illinois needed timeout again. Illinois pulled back within three with a service ace, but Niece nailed a quick to stop the run and Illinois found the net on the next point to get back to 17-12. Drechsel had a perfect pass and Powell found Sanders for the kill and 19-14. A huge stuff from Bajema on the left kept the Huskies pushing to the finish at 22-18. After two points to Illinois, one on a blocking error where UW had a clean dig, the Huskies called timeout up 22-20. Out of the break, Bajema went offspeed and got it to fall for 23-20. Hoffman made an out of system set work with a tip to the deep corner, and then Bajema won a joust at the net to take the set, 25-21.

SET 5: Bajema began the final set with a little dump to the 10-foot line for a kill. Hoffman used a sharp angle from the left to tie it up at 3-3. Hoffman's third kill of the set kept UW within a point at 5-6. A Bajema kill with an Illini block error tied it up at 8-8. She then tracked down a McPherson bump set and tooled the block for a 9-8 lead. Illinois then missed one long for 10-8 and a UI timeout. Out of the break, Bajema had another transition kill for 11-8 Dawgs. Drechsel and Niece then roofed an Illini swing for 12-8 and Illinois used its last timeout. UW dug in to win another great rally, with Drechsel punching one up along the sideline and McPherson getting a clutch dig before a Husky block ended it. Bajema got the Huskies to match point at 14-8 with a seventh straight point. Illinois saved the first two chances but then served long to end it, with the Huskies taking it, 15-10.