JACKSONVILLE, III. – Coming off a five-set defeat just 18 hours earlier, the Illinois College volleyball team was able to bounce back with a 3-0 win over Ripon College in Midwest Conference action, followed later by a 3-2 victory over Coe College. With these two victories in hand, the Lady Blues record sits at 13-4 (4-1 MWC).
Next up for the Illinois College volleyball team is a trip to Colorado to play in the Colorado College Tournament. Play will commence with two matches on Friday, October 11. These matches will be played at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. against a Top 10 nationally-ranked Colorado College team, as well as Johnson & Wales University. The team will then play Randolph-Macon College on Saturday, October 12 at 1 p.m.
Illinois College 3, Ripon 0
(25-17, 25-16, 25-15)
The Lady Blues had a chip on their shoulder, making quick work of Ripon College. Coming out firing, the Lady Blues scored first with a
Maddie Ramsey kill. With the match tied at 3-3, IC went on an eight-point run to make the score 11-3 thanks to two kills from
Ali Pankey and two kills from
Abbie Horstmann. IC would not look back from there on out. This potent offense was set up by 13 assists from
Elizabeth Ganley. Her consistency paved the way for the offense allowing Pankey to have five kills in six attempts and Horstmann to have four kills in five attempts. The first set ended the same way it began with a Ramsey kill.
The second set was the same. IC came out strong, scoring the first four points, taking full advantage of Ripon's mistakes. Illinois College had six of its ten blocks in the second set, Pankey led the way with four block assists. Horstmann had one solo block and three block assists. The final point of the set came with a Horstmann kill.
The Lady Blues showed no mercy in the third. The third set started out tight, with IC leading 11-10. However,
Brenna Dameris had something to say about the slight margin. Her kill sparked a seven-point run, giving IC an 18-10 cushion. The Lady Blues would use this run to take the match, 25-17.
Pankey led the way with 14 kills and an impressive .520 hitting percentage. Ganley had another solid match, accounting for 34 of the 38 total assists.
Illinois College 3, Coe 2
(20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 15-11)
The Lady Blues took this momentum into their second match of the day when they needed all five sets to take down a very resilient Coe College squad. IC began this match just like the morning match, scoring the first two points. Coe was able to rebound. The first set was back and forth until Coe pulled away late to take a 1-0 lead. The Kohawks finished the set scoring the final four points.
IC would not be denied in the second. The team used a 3-0 lead thanks to two kills off the hand of Dameris and a service ace from Ganley. The Lady Blues were able to stave off the Kohawks despite an eight-point rally that saw IC's 8-3 lead disintegrate into an 11-8 deficit. The second half of the set was back and forth, with no team obtaining more than a two-point advantage. However, IC was able to win four of the last five points to even the match at 1-1. Dameris had six out of IC's 13 kills in the set and Ganley had all 13 assists.
The Kohawks came ready to play in the third by taking the first three points. They took this early lead and never let it slip away. IC was down 14-11 when a small run ensued. The Lady Blues took the next four points, with two kills by Pankey to take a 17-15 lead. Coe was able to weather the storm and win the set by a score of 25-22.
The excitement continued late into the fourth. IC took a commanding 24-14 lead and was on the cusp of forcing a fifth set when Coe suddenly went on a 10-point binge to tie the score at 24-24. Though momentum had shifted, the Lady Blues were able to survive when the Kohawks committed back-to-back attack errors. Budd led the defensive effort with 11 digs, while Dameris, Horstmann and
Madison Klanke all had three kills in the set.
IC took early control of the fifth set. The Lady Blues had a commanding 6-2 lead thanks to kills from Horstmann, Dameris and two from Pankey. The set progressed and IC had a slight 14-11 edge and Pankey said enough was enough. She took a set from Ganley and found a seam in the middle of the Kohawk defense to deposit a kill for the IC victory.
Illinois College rode Pankey's hot hand throughout the night as she accounted for 20 kills. Klanke and Dameris each had 12 kills. Ganley had 57 assists, Budd had 23 digs and Ramsey had three blocks.
