Redbirds Take Second at Oregon Tournament

EUGENE, Ore. – The Illinois State volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday at the Oregon Tournament and finished the tourney in second-place with a 2-1 record. The Redbirds rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Ohio State in five sets in the opening match, before falling to host Oregon in the nightcap.

Illinois State's Ashley Rosch and Emily Schneider were named to the all-tournament team.

The Redbirds overcame an early deficit against Ohio State to win by scores of 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14. Rosch recorded a match-high 21 kills, while Schneider tallied 11 kills and six blocks. Jaelyn Keene added 15 kills and recorded a match-winning service ace to help the Redbirds win the fifth set and the match.

The Redbirds fell behind early in the first set against Ohio State, but took a 16-13 lead using a 7-0 run. Ohio State won tightly contested second and third sets, and was on track to win the fourth until Stacey Niao keyed a 5-0 rally with a pair of service aces. Rosch finished off the fourth set with her 17th kill of the match, and added four more in the fifth set to help her team prevail.

Kaitlyn Early distributed 55 assists and Emily Orrick made a team-high 17 digs for ISU.

The Redbirds went to a fifth set against Oregon as well, but lost by scores of 25-23, 10-25, 12-25, 25-22, 8-15.

Rosch led the Redbirds with 14 kills, while Keene chipped in 11 against Oregon. Schneider added nine kills and eight blocks. Early had 40 assists and Orrick led all players with 25 digs.

After scoring a 25-23 win in the first set, Oregon took control of the second and third sets, winning by scores of 25-10 and 25-12, respectively. The Redbirds forced a fifth set by winning the fourth, 25-22, but fell in the fifth set, 15-8.

The Redbirds are back in action next weekend at the Missouri Tiger Invitational, where they will face Missouri, Oakland, Xavier and Lipscomb.

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