Box Score
LOS ANGELES – The Illinois State volleyball team earned its first win of the season in its final match at the Loyola Marymount Invitational, defeating Niagara by scores of 25-10, 25-21, 25-11, Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion.
Ali Line led the Redbirds with 10 kills, while Keene turned in an all-around performance that included seven kills, a career-high six aces and five digs. Jacqueline Twing dished out 17 assists and tied Courtney Pence for the team lead in digs, as both players notched nine in the match.
Illinois State earned the win after suffering a loss to No. 12 UCLA earlier in the day, the team's second-straight loss to a nationally-ranked team to start the season.
"The team started this match with strong serving, building on a great service run by Jaelyn Keene, which helped us build an early lead," said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. "Our setters did a good job creating more balance and building good connections, allowing our offense to settle in and improve throughout the weekend.
"We had three great opponents in this tournament that should help us get better as a team."
Illinois State shot out to an early lead in the opening set, thanks to five service aces from Keene, and key kills down the stretch from Lexi Wallen helped the Redbirds take the first set.
A much closer second set saw plenty of back and forth early. With the score tied at 18-18, Illinois State scored four-straight points out of a timeout, only to see Niagara score three in a row to come back within one point of the lead. The Redbirds finished off the set, however, scoring the next three points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, Illinois State used an 8-1 run to pull away midway through the set. Line's 10th kill of the night gave Illinois State the match winner.
Illinois State returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Saint Louis for its home opener at Redbird Arena at 6 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets from the Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office, online at GoRedbirds.com/Tickets, in-person by visiting the ticket office at the north entrance to Redbird Arena, or by calling (309) 438-8000.
Links for live video, audio and stats from Wednesday's match can be found at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates from the match.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
