WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue had the momentum and crowd on its side.
Illinois had Beth Prince.
The eighth-ranked and unbeaten Illini beat the Boilermakers 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24 in a Big Ten opener on Friday night in front of a raucous crowd of 2,415 at Holloway Gymnasium.
Prince's three consecutive kills in the critical third set made the difference.
Prince finished with a team-high 19 kills for the Illini (12-0, 1-0), who got five aces from Ali Bastianelli, 20 digs from Morgan O'Brien and 52 assists from Jordyn Poulter.