WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Illinois State volleyball team opened up the George Washington Tournament with a five-set loss to Baylor Friday afternoon (25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 24-26, 12-15). The Redbirds got off to a strong start, going up 2-1 on the Bears, but Illinois State couldn't close Baylor out, as the Bears took sets four and five to defeat ISU.
The Redbirds (4-5) were led by senior Emily Schneider with 16 kills and four blocks for a total of 18 points. Both Stacey Niao and Ashley Rosch had 16 points each. Rosch contributed 15 kills, while Niao added 13 kills and nine digs in the match.Â
Through the first three sets, ISU had a stellar performance at the net with .268 attack percentage that earned it a 2-1 advantage in the match. In the fourth set, Baylor's outside hitters came to play, as Nicole Bardaji and Tola Itiola both had four kills in the set to will the Bears to a fifth set.
The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. ISU trailed midway through the set, 8-7, and from that point on, the Redbirds couldn't sustain a scoring run. Baylor ended the match with a 7-5 run to win the fifth set, 15-12, and the match.
The Redbirds will return to action Friday afternoon to take on Columbia starting at 4 p.m. (CST). All ISU matches can be heard on GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com:Â Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.ÂÂÂÂ
