NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team made it four Missouri Valley Conference wins in a row Sunday as the Redbirds took a 3-0 win over visiting Evansville. ISU won by scores of 25-13, 25-18, 25-11.
The Redbirds (10-5, 4-0 MVC) have won six consecutive matches, including their first four league matches of the season.
Junior Ashley Rosch tallied a match-high 16 kills while turning in a career-best .593 hitting percentage. Senior Emily Schneider recorded 10 kills of her own while senior Kaitlyn Early added 32 assists. Senior Emily Orrick had a match-high 23 digs.
The Redbirds jumped out a 13-5 lead in the first set thanks in part to two early kills from Rosch and senior Stacey Niao. Niao finished with five of her seven kills in the set while Early tacked on nine assists as the Redbirds cruised to a 25-13 first-set victory over the Purple Aces.
Freshman Jaelyn Keene sparked the Redbirds in the second set with three quick kills to put ISU up 6-1 over Evansville (4-11, 0-3). Illinois State led by as many as seven points in the set, but the Purple Aces were able to pull within five at 23-18 to keep the score close. Schneider capped off the set, however, with a kill to give the Redbirds a 25-18 second-set win. Early also notched 10 more assists in the set. Â
The Redbirds quickly erased the only deficit they faced in the match early in the third set with seven kills from Rosch, including a string of five straight, to put the Redbirds back ahead at 8-3. Rosch finished the set with 11 kills, while Early added 13 assists and Orrick recorded 12 digs as the Redbirds finished off the Purple Aces 25-11 to win the set and the match.
The Redbirds posted a .434 hitting percentage, while limiting Evansville to a .078 mark. ISU also held a 7-2 edge in blocks and a 3-0 advantage in service aces.
The Redbirds are back in action on Friday when they travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, to take on Indiana State. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CST) start.
Friday's match, and all Illinois State matches this season, can be heard live online at: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/isu/.
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