Chambana Sun

Illinois volleyball secured its sixth consecutive win by defeating Northwestern in a straight-set match at Huff Hall on Wednesday night. The victory improved the Fighting Illini's record to 13-10 overall and 8-5 in Big Ten play, while the Wildcats fell to 11-12 for the season and 5-8 in league play.

The team collectively achieved 50 kills with a hitting percentage of .268. Raina Terry led with 22 kills, marking her eighth match this season with at least 20 kills. Caroline Barnes contributed defensively with 18 digs, and Cari Bohm recorded five blocks. Jessica Nunge matched her season best with three aces, and Brooke Mosher provided a team-high of 40 assists.

In the first set, Illinois overcame an early deficit to win 25-23 after several lead changes. Terry made a significant impact by securing nine of the team's total kills during this set.

The second set saw Illinois starting strong with an 8-1 run. Despite Northwestern's efforts to close the gap, Illinois maintained their lead and finished the set at 25-22.

During the third set, both teams exchanged points evenly until Illinois pulled ahead to secure another narrow victory at 25-23, completing the sweep over Northwestern.

Looking ahead, Illinois will travel to face #2 Wisconsin on Saturday night in Madison. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Big Ten Network.

Key notes from the game include:

- Starters: Brooke Mosher, Raina Terry, Kayla Burbage, Kennedy Collins, Lily Barry, Cari Bohm, and Caroline Barnes.

- The Illini have moved to a record of 6-3 using this lineup.

- Wearing sleeveless white jerseys has resulted in a record of 7-1 for Illinois this year.

- Historically against Northwestern, Illinois now holds a record of 65 wins to 31 losses.

- Head coach Chris Tamas boasts a personal record of 9 wins and only two losses against Northwestern.

- In nationally televised matches this season, Illinois improved their record to two wins against four losses.

Raina Terry reached her milestone of her career's 1,500th kill during this match and now ranks tenth all-time at Illinois with a total of 1,515 career kills. Additionally, she added an ace bringing her career total to fifth place in Illini history with a total of 151 aces.

Vanessa Pan recorded ten digs for her fifth double-digit performance this year while Barnes achieved double digits in digs for nine consecutive matches.

Attendance was noted as being called at exactly two thousand twenty-three spectators for Wednesday night's game.