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Purdue Fort Wayne
20-12
Illinois
25-5
Mastodons Fall in NCAA Tournament Opener
12/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 3, 2009
Box Score | Photo GalleryChampaign, IL - The IPFW Mastodons' first trip to the NCAA Tournament as NCAA Division I members ended in the opening round, as the fifth ranked Illini of the University of Illinois toppled IPFW in three sets 25-16, 25-15, 25-12 in front of 1,360 fans at the Huff Arena on the Illinois campus.
"That's a very good Illinois team," said IPFW Head Women's Volleyball Coach Kelley Hartley Hutton. "We wish them well as they move on to the next round. This has been a special experience for our student athletes. We sure wish we would have played a little bit better, but that was a very, very good team."
Rebekah Roehm, in her final match as a collegian, had a team-high 10 kills, with Maya Schlindwein adding seven. Senior Jamie Schwartz had a team-best 11 digs, with Megan Steenhuysen dishing out 22 assists.
Illinois jumped out with a fury, scoring the first four points of the match, forcing IPFW into their first timeout. The Mastodons battled back, and used runs of 3-0 and 4-0, the last run capped by a Taryn Parker kill, to take a one-point, 10-9 lead, forcing Illinois in what would be their only timeout of the match.
"That's exactly what this team and this season were about," said Hartley Hutton about the first-set rally. "We didn't do things the easy way. I'm proud of the whole team, because we never gave up. There were times this season when it would have been really easy to throw in the towel. Instead, we'd get in the gym and get after it the next day. We went five games eight times and won six of those. That's just a testament to the character of their character."
With the momentum behind them, and the loud and boisterous Illinois crowd silent for the first time in the match, the hosts ran off an 8-1 run to lead by six at 17-11. IPFW would be unable to score on their own serve the rest of the way, as Illinois out-scored IPFW 16-6 after the Illini timeout, securing the 25-16 opening set score.
In the second set the Mastodons found themselves tied with Illinois at six apiece, before the hosts ran off back-to-back 5-0 runs, separated by only an Illini attack error, turning the 5-5 tie score into a 16-7 Illinois lead. IPFW used a late 3-0 run to cut the deficit to eight at 23-15, before Micelle Bartch ended the set with a kill and an ace, giving Illinois the 25-15 second set win.
In the third set, the teams traded 3-0 run, IPFW coming on a Schlindwein block and a kill, and an Ali Hook kill, knotting the teams at three apiece. Illinois responded with a 7-0 run, and cruised the rest of the way in the 25-12 final set Illinois win.
Bartch pounded down a match-high 15 kills, with Laura DeBruler chipping in 11. Hillary Haen dished out a match-best 35 assists, while serving up a match-best five aces. Rachel Feldman picked up a dozen digs, with Johanna Bangert, the NCAA leader in blocks per set, had four in the sweep of the 'Dons.
The loss ends the IPFW season with a 20-12 record, as the team tonight also saw the careers of Roehm, Schwartz, and Shannon Reuter capped with the NCAA Tournament game.
~Dons~
