LEXINGTON, Ky. – Illinois used a balanced offensive attack to rebound from losing the first set, defeating West Virginia 3-1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-22, 25-20) in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Friday at Memorial Coliseum.

Raina Terry had 18 kills for the Illini, while Megan Cooney had 15. Jessica Nunge (12), Kennedy Collins (11) and Kyla Swanson (10) were also in double figures for Illinois.

Diana Brown had 53 assists for Illinois and Taylor Kuper had 26 digs.

West Virginia (19-10) established an early lead, jumping ahead 10-3 behind outside hitter Adrian Ell. Illinois would climb its way back into the match, eventually tying the first set at 18 apiece and later taking a 23-21 lead. But WVU scored the final four points to take a 1-0 lead.

In the second set, it was Illinois jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead and never relinquishing control. The Illini would take the stanza and square the match 1-1.

The third set was tight early before Illinois scored five points in a row to take a 15-9 lead. West Virginia would chip away at the deficit, eventually getting as close as 24-22 before Illinois claimed the set and took a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth set, the teams played evenly again early before Illinois ran off eight straight points to take command.

Ell led West Virginia with 19 kills, while Kristin Lux had 12. Lacey Zerwas had 45 assists for WVU while Alexa Hasting had 26 digs.

Illinois (21-11) advances to Saturday’s second round match, where they will face the winner of Friday’s Kentucky-Southeast Missouri State match.