UCLA
Illinois
Bruins Knock Off #9 Illinois
September 06, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
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STANFORD, Calif. - Senior Karsta Lowe set a career high with 29 kills, including 12 in each of the last two sets, as the Bruins swept ninth-ranked Illinois on Friday night at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge at Stanford's Maples Pavilion. Set scores were 25-17, 25-22, 25-22.
In a rematch of the 2011 National Championship match, the Bruins (3-1) improved to 12-0 all-time against the Fighting Illini (3-1) and also earned the program's 1,199th victory.
Lowe bested her previous personal best in kills by four, adding 10 digs for her third career double-double. The senior added two aces and hit at a .426 percentage, as the Bruins (3-1) posted a .276 clip as a team. Senior Julie Consani tallied her first double-double as a Bruin with 40 assists and 13 digs, while sophomore Taylor Formico also nearly had a double-double, producing 12 digs and eight assists. Freshman Olga Strantzali added nine kills.
The Bruins fell behind early in set one 10-4, but stormed back with eight in a row and did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the opener. Lowe began the run with back-to-back kills, which was followed by an Illinois attack error and a kill by freshman Reily Buechler to make it 10-8. A Consani ace and a Lowe kill evened the score at 10, while a combo block by Lowe and senior Zoë Nightingale, and a kill from Nightingale, put the Bruins up 12-10.
After an Illini sideout, kills by Nightingale and Strantzali made it 14-11. In all, a run of 15-3 gave the Bruins a 19-13 advantage. Illinois climbed back with the next three, but UCLA scored six of the last seven of the opener to win it 25-17. The last four came on a combo block by Buechler and sophomore Claire Felix, a Formico ace, an Illinois attack error and a Lowe kill, her set-best fifth of the first. Lowe added five digs, while Strantzali posted three kills. The Bruins out-hit the Fighting Illini .189 to .029.
UCLA trailed 1-0 in set two, but scored six of the next seven and never looked back. Kills by Lowe and Felix put the Bruins ahead, and after an Illinois sideout, Lowe got the next three on two kills and an ace. A Strantzali kill put the Bruins up 6-2. Leading 15-13, a 5-0 UCLA run on four Lowe kills and an Illini error gave the Bruins a set-best edge of seven at 20-13.
Illinois made things interesting with a 9-3 run to cut its deficit to one at 23-22, but Lowe's 12th kill of the set gave the Bruins a pair of set points. Strantzali would record the ace to clinch the 25-22 win. Strantzali had three kills in the second. Consani added six digs, as the Fighting Illini held the hitting advantage .393 to .385.
The Fighting Illini led 7-5 to start set three, but a 5-0 UCLA run on three Lowe kills, a Lowe/Nightingale combo block and an Illinois attack error put the Bruins up 10-7. Illinois netted the next two, but another 5-0 UCLA run on two Lowe kills, a Buechler/Lowe block, a Strantzali kill and an Illini error gave the Bruins a set-best lead of six at 15-9.
Much like set two, the Illini made a run, scoring 10 of the next 15 to cut their deficit to one at 20-19. But two Lowe kills and a Strantzali kill made it 23-19 Bruins. Lowe's 29th kill of the match gave the Bruins four match points, which Illinois saved two of. But a Felix kill wrapped up a 25-22 win. Lowe had 12 more kills in the third, while Strantzali again had three. Formico posted six digs and Consani added five. The Bruins out-hit the Illini .255 to .196.
The Bruins take on top-ranked Penn State on Saturday at 5 p.m. Live stats will be available at UCLABruins.com.
