The University of Miami volleyball team defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday afternoon, 3-1, at the Linda Herman Classic. The match completes their trip to Normal, Ill. as UM took care of business with a pair of wins up north.
The final scores of the match were 25-21, 23-25, 25-15 and 25-17. Miami tallied 58 kills, 36 digs, nine blocks and 13 aces. The standout of the match for the ’Canes was their usual star, senior Flormarie Heredia Colon, who notched 24 kills and seven aces.
Set one started well for the Hurricanes, as they held a 4-1 lead after an ace by redshirt sophomore Ariana Rodriguez. Miami maintained its lead through the middle of the set as the team led 15-12 after a kill by freshman Amina N’Diaye. Not long after, Illinois went on a 3-0 scoring run capped off with an ace by senior Averie Hernandez to tie the set at 17 apiece. The ’Canes countered the Fighting Illini run with one of their own, winning the next five points to bring their lead to 22-17. The Hurricanes never gave the lead back as they finished the set with a kill by senior Dalia Wilson to give Miami the 25-21 set victory, starting off the match 1-0.
The start of set two was rough for Miami with Illinois starting off with a 9-3 lead. However, the Hurricanes were able to fight their way back with a 5-0 run, which consisted of a kill and two aces by Heredia Colon, to bring Miami within one for a score of 9-8. The remainder of the set was a back-and-forth battle with UM gaining the lead off an ace by N’Diaye to make the score 14-13. Going into the final stage of the set, the score was tied at 20. While the ’Canes made it close, they would end up losing the set, 25-23, on a Wilson service error tying the match 1-1.
The beginning of set three was all Heredia Colon for Miami. Three of their first four points came in the form of a Heredia Colon kill and they started off with a 4-1 lead. The Fighting Illini would tie the game at five soon after, but that would be the closest they would come to leading the set as UM dominated the rest of the way. Miami put on a show, going on a series of runs that would ultimately give them a substantial set three win, 25-15, along with putting themselves a set win from victory.
The fourth and final set began neck-and-neck, with neither side obtaining anything greater than a two point lead throughout the first half of the set. It was tied up at 13, looking as if the set would come down to the wire. That was until the ’Canes went on an 8-1 scoring run, featuring three Heredia Colon aces, to give Miami a commanding 21-14 lead late in the set. The end would not come long after that, as back-to-back kills by Rodriguez capped off the set win for the Hurricanes with a score of 25-17, along with the match victory of 3-1.
With the win, the ’Canes (7-1) turn their attention to hosting the 305 Invitational, where they will be playing Coastal Carolina (6-2) on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
