DECATUR, Ill. – The Illinois College volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday at the Millikin University Fall Invitational. The Lady Blues started off Saturday morning with a four-set win over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, but Greenville University was able to escape with a five-set win to close out the day. At the conclusion of the tournament,
Abbie Horstmann was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Now 7-2 on the season, Illinois College returns home for a non-conference matchup against Fontbonne University on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Illinois College 3, Rose-Hulman 1
(25-21, 28-26, 13-25, 26-24)
Horstmann had a team-high 13 kills in the first match of the day on Saturday. Both
Brenna Dameris and
Madison Klanke each added nine kills as well, with Klanke hitting at a .643 clip.
Elizabeth Ganley had 39 assists to go along with 17 digs.
Madie Budd led the Lady Blues with 23 digs on the day.
Greenville 3, Illinois College 2
(25-16, 16-25, 26-28, 25-21, 13-15)
Outside of two comfortable victories by each team in the first two sets, Saturday afternoon's battle between the Lady Blues and Panthers was tight the rest of the way.
In the third set, Greenville took a 24-21 lead and was ready to close it out before Illinois College ran off three points in a row to tie the score at 24-24. The match reached 26-26 before the Panthers were able to close it out to take a 2-1 lead.
The Lady Blues answered back with a 25-21 victory in the fourth set to force the match to go the distance. Illinois College then enjoyed a 9-7 lead in the final set before Greenville scored four in a row to take an 11-9 edge. The teams traded side-outs the rest of the way and the Panthers were able to hold on.
Ali Pankey had a match-high 19 kills. Both Klanke and Horstmann notched 15 kills in the match and Dameris tacked on 11. Ganley had 53 assists and 14 digs on the afternoon. Budd led the back line with 25 digs.
