NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team claimed sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference on Friday, beating rival Northern Iowa in four sets, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 25-23, in a meeting between previously unbeaten league teams at Redbird Arena.
The win was the Redbirds 10th in a row, marking the program's longest winning streak since 1996. The win also ended a 16-match losing streak to Northern Iowa.
Ashley Rosch led four Redbirds recording double-digit kills with a match-high 15. Stacey Niao tacked on 13 kills, while Jaelyn Keene and Eliza Smith added 10 and 11, respectively. Kaitlyn Early dished out 47 assists and senior Emily Orrick notched 32 digs in the game. Keene also led all players with seven blocks.
The Redbirds (14-5, 8-0 MVC) and Panthers (12-7, 7-1 MVC) battled back-and-forth early in the first set, with neither team extending a lead larger than six points. With ISU up late in the set, UNI rattled off three straight points to make it close at 23-20, but back-to-back kills from Rosch ended the first set.
The two teams exchanged leads early in the second set before Northern Iowa used a five-point run to push ahead at 17-12. The Panthers never looked back en route to a 25-20 second-set victory.
The third set was also close, but Keene helped the Redbirds pull away midway through the set by tallying a set-high six kills.
The Redbirds then jumped out to a sizable lead in the fourth set, going up by as many as eight points at 21-13. Northern Iowa fought back to within one point with an 8-1 run, but key kills down the stretch from Rosch and Niao helped the Redbirds finish off the match.
The Redbirds return to action Saturday night, when they host Drake at 7 p.m. at Redbird Arena. Saturday will be "Paint the Arena Pink" night, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
Saturday's match, and all Redbird matches this season, can be heard live online at: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/isu/.
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