CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The UCLA women’s volleyball team picked up a crucial road victory over Illinois in four sets on Thursday night inside Huff Hall.

Set scores were 17-25, 25-15, 25-21, 26-24.

UCLA's (16-8, 7-6 Big Ten) defense at the net proved to be the difference, as the Bruins recorded a season-high 16.5 team blocks while holding the Illini (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten) to a .247 hitting percentage. UCLA finished with 50 kills, 46 assists, 50 digs and five service aces while overcoming a 60-50 deficit in kills.

UCLA remains unbeaten in the all-time series against Illinois, improving to 15-0.

Mija Bendziute and Eliana Urzua paced the Bruins with 12 kills apiece. Bendziute added two aces, seven digs and four blocks while hitting .333, while Urzua chipped in three blocks. Maggie Li also reached double figures with 11 kills, adding 10 digs for a double-double, three blocks and a service ace.

Marianna Singletary stuffed the stat sheet with nine kills and a match-high five blocks, while Jordyn Johnson anchored UCLA's blocking effort with a career-high nine blocks in just her second start of the season. Off the bench, Hazel Alevok provided a spark with three kills and three blocks.

At setter, Kate Duffey dished out 20 assists and four digs, while Ava Sarafa contributed 18 assists, six digs and a service ace.

Defensively, Kat Lutz led the Bruins with 13 digs and an ace, while Ava Utterback added six digs.

UCLA dropped the opening set before roaring back, hitting .500 in the second frame and using its dominant blocking presence to claim the next three sets. The fourth set featured eight ties and four lead changes before the Bruins closed out the match, snapping a four-match losing streak.

Illinois opened the set on a 6-1 run, but back-to-back kills from Bendziute and Urzua helped UCLA trim the deficit to 11-9. The Illini answered with a 3-0 spurt, extending their lead to 15-10 at the first media timeout. That stretch proved to be the turning point of the set, as Illinois maintained control throughout and closed on a 4-0 run to claim the opening frame, 25-17. The Illini hit .312 in the set, while UCLA was limited to a .069 hitting percentage.

Bendziute sparked UCLA early in the second set with a pair of kills, and Sarafa followed with an ace to cap a 3-0 run that gave the Bruins a 6-3 lead. UCLA continued to build momentum as Singletary stuffed a block and Bendziute added an ace, stretching the advantage to 10-5 and prompting an Illinois timeout. Alevok made an immediate impact off the bench, hammering home a kill before teaming with Johnson for back-to-back blocks to ignite another Bruins surge and extend the lead to 14-6. From there, UCLA remained firmly in control, cruising to a 25-15 set victory. Bendziute paced the Bruins with four kills, two aces, and a block, while UCLA's offense found its rhythm with a blistering .500 hitting percentage in the frame.

Illinois seized an early 4-1 advantage in the third set, but UCLA battled back to even the score at 6-6 behind a pair of emphatic blocks from Johnson. Li then sparked the Bruins with consecutive kills during a 4-0 run that turned a tie game into an 11-8 UCLA lead. The Illini answered with a 4-0 surge of their own to knot the set at 13-13, but the Bruins responded by winning the final two points before the media break to carry a 15-13 edge into the timeout. After Illinois trimmed the deficit to 18-17, UCLA created separation with a decisive 4-1 run, highlighted by a Lutz ace that pushed the lead to four. The Bruins maintained control the rest of the way, closing out the set 25-21. Urzua led UCLA offensively with five kills in the frame.

The two teams traded points throughout the early stages of the fourth set before UCLA seized momentum with a 4-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back blocks from Johnson that gave the Bruins a 14-12 advantage. Illinois responded with a 4-0 burst of its own, turning a deficit into a 20-17 lead and forcing a UCLA timeout.

Facing a 22-18 deficit, the Bruins mounted a late comeback, stringing together three straight points capped by a Singletary block to pull within one and prompt an Illinois timeout. After the Illini claimed the next point, UCLA answered with another decisive surge as Bendziute delivered back-to-back kills before Johnson came up with a massive block to bring up match point.

Illinois fought off the first opportunity, but Bendziute responded with yet another kill to give the Bruins a second chance to close it out. On match point, Alevok provided the exclamation mark, soaring for a solo block that sealed a dramatic 26-24 set victory and secured the match for UCLA.

The Bruins return to action on Saturday, Nov. 7 when they take on No. 14 Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. First serve is set for 5 p.m. (PT) on Big Ten Network.