Minnesota, Iowa games
will test Illini's abilities
Illinois hopes that this weekend
turns out a lot like last weekend. Or even better.
The Illini (12-13, 3-11) went into last weekend wanting to come home
with one win, and that is what they did with their victory over then
No. 22 Michigan State. Now, as they look forward to this weekend's
matches against No. 7 Minnesota (23-2, 12-2) and Iowa (7-7, 11-11),
they will again be satisfied with a split.
"We really want to pull one of them out," Illinois head coach Don
Hardin said. "Just like last weekend showed, you never really know
what's going to happen."
The players agree with Hardin. A .500 record is a realistic goal at
this point of the season, the players have said, and winning half
their games will help accomplish this goal.
"We need to pull out one win," senior middle blocker Betsy Spicer
said. "If we do that for the rest of the season, we'll have a .500
season."
Illinois was a lot healthier the last time it faced Minnesota in September.
In that game, sophomore outside hitter Sue Webber went out with an
injured knee. Freshman Melissa Vandrey took her place and led the
Illini with 13 kills. She is also out with a knee injury now, one
of the many lineup problems Hardin has had to face this season. The
Golden Gophers swept Illinois, while recording only six attack errors.
Minnesota is currently in second place in the Big Ten and has the
Big Ten Athlete of the Week in junior outside hitter Nicole Branagh.
The Gophers are coming off wins against Indiana and Penn State last
weekend.
"They are obviously one of the best teams in the nation," Hardin said
of Minnesota. "They have depth at all positions. Their setter does
a great job. They're one of the best blocking teams in the country."
On top of their blocking, the Gophers also have one of the best attacking
offenses.
"We have to key in on all their strong attackers, which is basically
all of them," sophomore outside hitter Anne Koester said. "Nicole
Branagh is very strong."
Branagh is leading the Gophers with 5.42 kills per game. She had a
staggering 40 kills against Penn State last Saturday. Teammate Stephanie
Hagen is not far behind with 4.10 kills per game.
"A lot of it is our side," Koester said. "We need to keep our composure
and when things don't go our way we need to get right back at it."
The Illini's next opponent will be Iowa. The Hawkeyes might be better
than their record shows. They lost to Penn State and Indiana in their
last two matches. Their loss to Indiana was only their second loss
to an unranked opponent this year.
"They are much stronger than in years past," Spicer said. "We can't
look at that as an easy match either. We backed down last time and
we have to make sure that we don't do that again."
Last time, Iowa won in four games. The Hawkeyes are led by sophomore
outside hitter Sara Meyermann, who averages 3.86 kills a game. Senior
setter Fabiana de Abreu averages 9.64 assists a game and has six triple-doubles
on the season.
"They have one of the best setters in the country," Hardin said. "Our
block needs to be consistent. Serving and ball control has to be good
too. It was hard losing Sarah Pomeroy, who was a very good passer
and server."
If the Illini are going to come out of this weekend with a victory,
it will not be an easy task.
"It is definitely going to be a fight this weekend," Koester said.
The Illini take on Minnesota on Friday and Iowa on Saturday. Both
games begin at 7:00 p.m. at Huff Hall. |
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