WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Illinois State volleyball team swept Columbia University in straight sets in its second match of the George Washington Tournament (25-17, 25-16, 25-14). Junior Ashley Rosch led the Redbirds to victory with 12 kills on 24 attempts (.458) for 13.5 points.
The Redbirds (5-5) bounced back after losing in five sets to Baylor earlier on Friday and dominated in every statistical category over Columbia (3-2) to get back to the .500 mark on the season.
A handful of players contributed in the win. Freshman Jaelyn Keene had eight kills, followed by Emily Schneider with seven and Stacey Niao with six. ISU head coach Melissa Myers was able to play 13 players in the match, which is a season high.
This match was all about fast starts for the Redbirds. In the first set ISU cruised to a 12-4 lead en route to its 25-17 victory. The second set was closer in the early going, but ISU pulled away with an 8-2 run in the middle of the set to grow its lead to 18-8, before taking it 25-16. In the third set the Redbirds raced to a 13-1 lead and flew to a 25-14 victory to defeat the Lions in three-straight sets.
The Redbirds' final match of the George Washington Tournament is Saturday against George Washington University, starting at 1 p.m. (CST). All ISU matches can be heard on GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
