Purdue looked fully in control over an unranked Illini team in the first two sets, 25-17 each. Purdue’s D was impressive. But suddenly Illinois caught fire winning the 3rd set 25-23 and the 4th set 24-17 with Purdue looking completely outmatched and the IIlini’s Raina Terry appearing to be unblockable and unstoppable. And the 5th set started the same.
Then about half way through the final set Purdue reached back and found what it needed to first tie the match and then defeat an Illinois match point at 14 - 13, going on to score 3 straight points on two Emma Ellis kills and a decisive kill by Lafayette native Grace Balensiefer with an over-her-right-shoulder dump on a 2-ball. It was a thrilling end to a Jekyll and Hyde match that Purdue, just a few mins earlier, seemed destined to fritter away. And it was also the second time in a week that grad transfer Balensiefer was instrumental in giving the Boilers a win.
Early in the match Emma Ellis seemed error prone and for a time she was removed for Chinn. But in the clutch she came thru as she so often has. Eva Hudson was her incomparable self with 24 kills (a match record for her) with a hitting % of 0.380 (highest for either team of anyone who had more than 5 kills) and 17 digs (second highest on the team behind Ali Hornung‘s 20.)
The entire back row of Ava Torrance, Ali Honung and Emily Brown filled in for defensive star Maddie Schermerhorn admirably but Purdue’s D for the last three sets was bending and near breaking in the face of Illinois’s tall and powerful attackers.
This win is certainly something for which Dave’s team should be proud. But in the Big Ten, there are no teams you can take for granted or matches that you can feel secure about until the final kill.
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Then about half way through the final set Purdue reached back and found what it needed to first tie the match and then defeat an Illinois match point at 14 - 13, going on to score 3 straight points on two Emma Ellis kills and a decisive kill by Lafayette native Grace Balensiefer with an over-her-right-shoulder dump on a 2-ball. It was a thrilling end to a Jekyll and Hyde match that Purdue, just a few mins earlier, seemed destined to fritter away. And it was also the second time in a week that grad transfer Balensiefer was instrumental in giving the Boilers a win.
Early in the match Emma Ellis seemed error prone and for a time she was removed for Chinn. But in the clutch she came thru as she so often has. Eva Hudson was her incomparable self with 24 kills (a match record for her) with a hitting % of 0.380 (highest for either team of anyone who had more than 5 kills) and 17 digs (second highest on the team behind Ali Hornung‘s 20.)
The entire back row of Ava Torrance, Ali Honung and Emily Brown filled in for defensive star Maddie Schermerhorn admirably but Purdue’s D for the last three sets was bending and near breaking in the face of Illinois’s tall and powerful attackers.
This win is certainly something for which Dave’s team should be proud. But in the Big Ten, there are no teams you can take for granted or matches that you can feel secure about until the final kill.
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