NORMAL, Ill. – A season-high crowd of 2,877 was treated to a three-set victory by the host Redbirds Saturday, as the Illinois State volleyball team topped Bradley in its annual Pack the Arena match at Redbird Arena. ISU won by scores of 25-16, 25-16, 25-16.
Illinois State (20-5, 14-0 MVC) improved upon the program's best start in Missouri Valley Conference play by winning its 14th-straight conference match to open the season, and moved into a tie for fourth place in program history with its current 16-match overall winning streak.
Strong performances from Kaitlyn Early, Jaelyn Keene and Stacey Niao guided the Redbirds to victory Saturday night. Early dished out a match-high 35 assists, while Keene paced the Redbirds with 12 kills and four blocks. Niao added nine kills and eight digs. Emily Orrick led all players with 21 digs and three service aces.
Ashley Rosch tallied three of her six kills in the first set to help the Redbirds get off to a fast start. Although Bradley (1-24, 1-14 MVC) stayed within a few points early in the set, the Redbirds used a five-point rally midway through the set to pull away.
Five kills from Keene and a pair of aces from Orrick led the Redbirds to another win in the second set. ISU shot out to a 7-1 lead early on and never looked back.
Keene registered five more kills, while Emily Schneider and Niao added four apiece, in the third set. Schneider's fourth kill of the set came on match point, and gave the Redbirds a 25-16 win in the set, matching their winning score in the previous two sets.
Illinois State finished with a .314 hitting percentage, while limiting Bradley to a .041 mark. The Redbirds also held edges in aces (5-4), digs (46-43) and blocks (7-0).
Illinois State will hit the road for a pair of MVC matches next weekend, traveling to Northern Iowa Saturday and Drake on Sunday.
Both matches, and all Illinois State matches this season, can be heard live online at: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/isu/.
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