CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 11 Penn State came up short in a road match against Illinois on Wednesday night, falling 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 ) in Big Ten women's volleyball action at Huff Hall.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 17-5 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten, while the Illini upped their record to 10-11 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
Penn State ran into a huge night by Illinois' Raina Terry. The Preseason All-Big Ten selection went off with 24 kills on .380 hitting in addition to four blocks. She set the tone early with nine kills on .600 hitting in the opening set to help the Illini take the early lead.
Illinois went on to win the second set behind five blocks before Penn State came alive to avoid the sweep. The Lions were strong in the third set, hitting .310 with 14 kills to get the two-point win. Freshman Alexa Markley was perfect in the set with five kills on five swings.
Despite Penn State keeping the match alive, Illinois may have won the momentum battle with a furious comeback late in the set. The Illini staved off six straight set points before their rally ended with a service error.
The fourth set saw Penn State make a late comeback attempt that came up just short similar to the way Illinois' did the set prior. The Illini went up 24-19 before Zoe Weatherington started a 4-0 Lions' run with a kill and added another after a Markley kill. Things got more exciting as they pulled within one on a block by Weatherington and Allie Holland, but Rylee Hinton clinched the victory for the Illini with a kill.
Markley and Weatherington were solid for Penn State as Markley hit .333 with 14 kills and Weatherington finished with 10 kills on .353 hitting. Kashauna Williams led the team with 15 kills, while Maddy Bilinovic was tops on the team with 13 digs. Seleisa Elisaia just missed a double-double with 39 assists and nine digs.
Illinois' win was bolstered by a strong defensive showing at the net. The Illini finished with a season-high 15 blocks, including eight by Hinton
Penn State is in the middle of a tough stretch of travel as it went on the road for a match for the fifth consecutive week. That will continue with road matches in each of the next two weeks.
The Lions are back at Rec Hall for their next match, though. They host No. 6 Ohio State for the Dig Pink match on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. It will air live on B1G Network.
