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Recapping matches from Saturday played by the top 10 ranked teams:

#1 Illinois Battles With Michigan State In Five To Win

MSU fought with Illinois in five sets Saturday before Illinois pulled off a win (25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 15-9). Colleen Ward led Illinois with 22 kills; MSUs leader was Kyndra Abron with 16 kills.

Illinois took the lead early in set one, although both teams went back and forth for points, with neither creating a run. Finally MSU managed a run of three points to take the lead 13-12 before Illinois grabbed a point to tie it up. MSU managed to create a larger gap in the score, coming to 22-17 before Illinois went on an eight point run to win the set 25-22.

MSU took the early lead in the second set and maintained it throughout the set before Illinois took over at 19-18. Although the score tied up three times after the lead take change, MSU was never able to get it back and Illinois took the set 25-21.

The third set saw the return of a motivated MSU. Illinois went on an early four point run before a hitting error gave MSU the ball who responded with a five point run. The teams went back and forth before MSU took the lead again at 8-7 and never relinquished it again. Several three-point runs later MSU took the third set of the evening, their first win of the night. The forth set woke Illinois up a little with a battle over the scoreboard; there were fifteen score ties and six lead changes before MSU won their second set of the evening with 25-23. The final set of the evening seemed to be the most consistent set for Illinois who went on run of several points to ensure their win at 15-9.

Illinois is now 19-0 overall, 8-0 in the Big Ten, while MSU drops to 15-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

#2 Washington Falls to #7 Stanford In Three

Washington lost its second match of the weekend to Stanford in three (25-19, 25-16, 25-23). The Huskies were led by Krista Vansant, who had 9 kills and 11 digs. Rachel Williams led the Cardinal with 15 kills and 5 digs.

The first set began evenly between both teams, who managed to go point for point. The Cardinal finally created a gap at 10-8 with a three point run, followed by another three point run to put the Cardinal at 17-10. The Huskies rallied with a five point run to reach 19-22 before the Cardinal finished the set at 25-19. The Cardinal took the lead early in the second set and never let it go. The Huskies, never able to score more than two points at a time were unable to keep up with the Cardinals who after several early runs closed the game at 25-16.

The third and final set brought out the fight in the Huskies who rallied back several times, closing gaps of at least three points in the set. They finally caught up at 22-22, tying the score again at 23-23 before the Cardinals aced them for the final score of 25-23.

The Cardinal stand at 14-3 overall, 8-3 in Pac-12 play, while the Huskies drop to 15-3 overall and 7-3 in conference play.

#3 USC Takes Oregon State In Three

The Trojans overrun the Beavers in three sets (25-12, 25-14, 25-15). Katie Fuller led the Trojans with nine kills, while the Beavers were led by Camille Saxton who also put away nine kills.

The first set began with the Trojans taking the lead early in the set and never letting it go. The Beavers only managed to score a single point at a time, with the exception of two runs of two points. The Trojans closed out the first set with two kills, making it 25-12. The second set was much like the first; however the Beavers managed three runs of two points outside of otherwise only scoring a single point at a time. The Trojans again finished the set with a kill for 25-14. The third and final set of the match was a rerun of the previous two sets, the Beavers couldn’t manage more than two two-point runs and the Trojans finished the set with a kill at 25-15.

The Trojans now stands at 15-3 overall and 10-1 in Pac-12 play. The Beavers record drops to 11-9 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

#4 Cal Sweeps Washington State

Cal takes down WSU in three (25-22, 25-19, 25-18). Cal was led by Tarah Murrey with 12 kills and 12 digs. Meagan Ganzer led WSU with 12 kills.

WSU led at the start of the first set, up 7-3, before Cal was able to rally back. Cal only spread the scoreboard after rallying to reach 20-15 when WSU made a run at the lead. WSU was able to tie up the set at 21-21; however Cal took the match after a hitting error by WSU to win 25-22. The second set began much like the first, however at 11-10 Cal broke away bringing it to 20-13. Cal finished the game with a kill to close it at 25-19. The third and final set began with tied scores from 2-2 to 7-7 before Cal took off with a 22-12 advantage. WSU rallied back thanks to some Cal errors, reaching 22-18, before Cal closed the match with a block for a 25-18 win.

Cal’s overall record is now 19-2 and 9-2 in Pac-12 play; WSU drops to 11-9 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

#5 Nebraska Fights Back In Five To Beat #14 Minnesota

Minnesota took the first two sets before Nebraska came back in set three to close out the rest of the match at 3-2 (28-30, 19-25, 25-10, 25-12, 15-11). The Huskers were led by Gina Mancuso with 18 kills and 15 digs in the match, while the Gophers were led by Ashley Wittman who had 22 kills and 12 digs.

The first set was a battle with fifteen tied scores and seven lead changes. The Gophers managed to reach 12-9 and then stretched the lead to 15-11, then furthered themselves to 18-13. The Huskers rallied back and through several runs came to 23-20 over the Gophers. Both teams continued to battle, going point for point before the Gophers took the set at 30-28. The second set saw another early battle before the Gophers lead the set at 19-12. The Huskers made an effort to come back, making it to 17-20, before the Gophers finished the set at 25-19.

The Huskers came into the third set with fire under them, taking the lead and extending it to 13-7 before taking off to 17-8. The Gophers were not able to rally back and the Huskers took the third set 25-10. The Huskers continued their lead into the fourth set with 14-6 before closing out the set at 25-12. The fifth and final set again saw the Huskers leading the scoreboard before the Gophers came back at 5-7. However the Huskers would have nothing of it and completed the set with a kill to win the match 15-11.

Nebraska stands at 15-1 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten; Minnesota drops to 11-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

#6 UCLA Take #16 Oregon To Four For The Win

The Bruins took down the Ducks in four, dropping the second set before winning the match (25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19). Alaina Bergsma led the Ducks with 14 kills and 7 digs. The Bruins were led by Rachael Kidder with 17 kills and 7 digs.

The Ducks led in the beginning of the first set, up 11-8, before the Bruins were able to tie it up at 11-11. It didn’t last long as the Ducks again took the lead, always just out of reach for the Bruins. At 18-20, the Bruins went on a six point run to make it 23-20. The Ducks managed another point before the Bruins finished the match at 25-21. The second set saw the Ducks with another early lead, however the Bruins tied it up at 12-12 and they went point for point until the Ducks managed a three point run for 20-16. The Bruins managed to get within one point before the Ducks finished the set at 25-22.

The third set became a battle with six tied scores and five lead changes. The Bruins began ahead, leading 16-12 with the Ducks responding with a seven point run. The Bruins answered with a six point run to make it 22-19. The Ducks managed to get within one point before the Bruins won 25-23. The fourth set began with strong runs by both teams before they tied up the set four times, only to have the Bruins eventually take the lead at 8-7 and hold it. The Ducks managed to get within two points until 13-16, when the Bruins went on a run to widen the gap and close the game with a kill for 25-19.

UCLA now stands at 16-3 overall and 9-2 in Pac-12 play. Oregon drops to 12-6 overall, 5-5 in conference play.

#9 Penn State Defeats Indiana In Three

Penn State sweeps Indiana 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-21). They were led by Deja McClendon with 13 kills; Indiana was led by both Kelci Marschall and Samantha Thrower with 6 kills each.

Indiana came out with the lead in the first set before Penn State woke up and jumped into the lead at 12-8 and later only extended it to 17-11. Indiana made a final three point run before Penn State closed out the first set 25-18. Penn State took the lead in the second set but Indiana fought back to tie the match at 8-8. Despite some tied scores, Penn State broke ahead again to 21-13 before finishing the set at 25-16. The third set began with several runs by Penn State to lead at 13-5. However Indiana rallied for several small runs to reach 16-21, then battled further to 20-23, before Penn State closed the match with 25-21.

Penn State stands at 16-3 overall, 6-2 in Big Ten play. Indiana falls to 8-12 overall and 0-8 in conference play.

#10 Texas Takes Kansas State

Texas moves right past Kansas State taking them 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-20). Bailey Webster led the Longhorns with 15 kills. The Wildcats were led by Kaitlynn Pelger with 12 kills.

The first set began pretty evenly with four tied scores; however the Longhorns then took the lead and held on to it. They went on a four-point run to 18-13 before the Wildcats could slow them down going back and forth for several points. The Longhorns stepped up again at 21-16, giving away only one point before finishing 25-17. The Longhorns took the early lead in the second set at 5-3 and kept the Wildcats to earning single points until 9-16 when the Wildcats went on a four-point run to 12-16. The Longhorns didn’t allow that to last going on several runs again leaving the Wildcats to single points before the Longhorns closed the set at 25-15. The final set began evenly as the teams tied up three times before the Longhorns broke away and only widened the gap at 9-7 with a five-point run. The Wildcats only came within three points of the Longhorns as they played to finish. The Longhorns ended the game with a kill for 25-20.

The Longhorns step up to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in Big 12 play; the Wildcats stand at 14-6 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

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