University of Illinois
5-3,0-0Big Ten
Marquette
3-4,0-0Big East
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette | 15 | 11 | 27 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
| Illinois | 25 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 15 | 3 |
Illinois Earns Hard-Fought Five-Set Win Over Marquette
September 13, 2026 | Volleyball
RECAP
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois secured a hard-fought five-set win over Marquette on Sunday afternoon at Huff Hall.
With five players finishing with double-digit kills, the Fighting Illini used a 7-0 run late in the fifth set to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point lead, helping the hosts improve to 5-3 on the season.
Paityn Chapman posted her third double-double of the season with 16 kills and a career-high 17 digs. She also added a career-best four aces, three blocks, and two assists.
Ashlyn Philpot filled the stat sheet with 13 kills, nine blocks, and five digs while swinging at a .423 clip.
Alyssa Aguayo amassed 16 kills, nine digs, and a career-high six blocks. Taylor de Boer tallied 14 kills, four digs, and a block, while Kristina Starostenko collected a career-best 11 kills and three blocks.
Defensively, Talita Goncalves totaled a career-high 26 digs along with four assists, while Kenna Phelan's final stat line included a double-double with 56 assists, 11 digs, three kills, and two blocks. Maya Harris had 14 digs and an ace.
As a team, the Orange and Blue swung at a .308 clip while registering several season-highs, including 73 kills, 86 digs, and 12.0 blocks.
The Fighting Illini used a 5-0 run early in the opening frame to jump out to an 8-3 advantage, with the home side soon heading into the media timeout with a 15-11 edge. With Illinois' lead up at 18-14, the Illini went on a 6-0 run with Chapman at the service line, a stretch that included three aces, before the hosts ultimately claimed the frame, 25-15.
The Orange and Blue carried that momentum into the second set, storming out to an 11-2 edge. Their lead reached double digits just before the media timeout, though a 4-1 run from the Golden Eagles saw the visitors slightly cut into their deficit, 17-9. The Illini responded by winning eight of the final 10 points of the frame to double their lead via a 25-11 margin in the set.
Both sides tallied 4-0 runs midway through the third set as the Golden Eagles won the race to 15 and held a slim 15-14 edge at the media break. With neither side able to pull away in the frame, the Illini used a 3-0 run to establish a 22-21 edge. Marquette responded and looked to serve out the set at 24-23, but Illinois accounted for the next two points to get a match point of its own. The visitors ended the frame on a 3-0 run to force a fourth set, 27-25.
Marquette found success early in the fourth frame and eventually held a 22-10 edge in the set. A 7-1 Illini run cut that deficit in half, but the visitors soon closed out the frame to force a decisive fifth set.
With neither side ahead by more than two points early in the fifth, the Golden Eagles strung together a 6-0 run to take an 11-7 advantage. The Illini countered with a long run of their own, recording a 7-0 scoring stretch to grab a 14-11 lead. Though Marquette fought off two more Illinois match points, Aguayo logged her seventh kill of the set to finish out the Orange and Blue's home victory.
The Fighting Illini will finish their nonconference slate away from home with three matches next week, starting with a road trip to Eastern Illinois on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.
NOTES
- Paityn Chapman her third double-double of the season/of her career with 16 kills, 17 digs, four aces, three blocks, and two assists.
- Set a career-high with her 17 digs.
- Now has three outings with double-digit digs this season.
- Secured a new career-best with four aces.
- Had at least three blocks for the fifth time
- Has three straight outings with at least three stuffs.
- Set a career-high with her 17 digs.
- Alyssa Aguayo accumulated 16 kills, nine digs, and six blocks.
- Recorded a career-most six blocks.
- Has multiple blocks in four matches this season.
- Had double-digit kills for the third time this year.
- Her 16 kills marked a new season-best output.
- Seven of 16 kills came in the fifth set.
- Now has two or fewer attack errors in four of her last five outings.
- Recorded a career-most six blocks.
- Taylor de Boer totaled 14 kills, four digs, and a block.
- Marked her fourth match with 10+ kills this season.
- Matched her career-high with four digs.
- Ashlyn Philpot finished the day with 13 kills, nine blocks, and five digs.
- Set season-highs in all three categories.
- Her nine block assists set a new career-best tally.
- Talita Goncalves totaled 26 digs and added four assists.
- Set a new career-high with her 26 digs.
- Was the seventh 20-dig performance of her career.
- Has double-digit digs in six consecutive matches.
- Her 26 digs are the most by an Illini since Christina Martinez Mundo also had 26 at Lipscomb on Sept. 21, 2024.
- Set a new career-high with her 26 digs.
- Kristina Starostenko collected 11 kills and three blocks.
- Her 11 kills marked a new career-high.
- Had 10+ kills for the third time.
- Has at least three blocks on four occasions.
- Her 11 kills marked a new career-high.
- Kenna Phelan filled the stat sheet with 56 assists, 11 digs, three kills, and two blocks.
- Was her first double-double of the season and the 17th of her career.
- Set season-best marks in assists and digs.
- Maya Harris logged 14 digs and had an ace.
- Posted double-digit digs for the second time in her career.
- The Illini hit .308 as a team.
- Illinois hit over .300 for the fifth time this season.
- All five of Illinois' wins have come when hitting at least .300.
- Illinois limited Marquette to a .169 clip.
- Illinois recorded a season-high 86 digs as a team.
- The Illini's 86 digs are their most in a match since Oct. 1, 2021, when they also totaled 86 in a five-set win at #4 Purdue.
- The Illini registered 73 kills as a team.
- The Illini's 73 kills are their most in a match since Sept. 6, 2019, when they also posted 73 vs. Washington.
- Illinois set a new season-high with 12 blocks.
- The Illini now have two outings with double-digit blocks.
- The Illini are now 1-1 in five-set contests this season.
- Illinois is now 3-1 at Huff Hall this season.
- The Illini moved to 7-2 in the all-time series against Marquette.
- Illinois is 5-0 when playing Marquette in Champaign.
- The Illini are now 2-1 when wearing white sleeveless jerseys.
