Peoria, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team swept Bradley in straight sets Saturday evening inside the Renaissance Coliseum. Aly Dawson set a career-high hitting percentage, .667 (12-18) in the win, while ISU set a season-high team hitting percentage (.406). The Redbirds took the match with set scores of 25-13, 25-23, 25-15.
The junior outside hitter led all attackers with 12 kills, Dawson also chipped in five digs and four blocks. Jaelyn Keene recorded nine kills and Lexi Varga contributed eight kills.
The Redbirds (13-6, 3-3 MVC) started the match by jumping out to a 10-4 advantage. ISU's offensive attack was on point in the opening set, as ISU had a hitting percentage of .375. Dawson dropped in five kills in the set, and ISU took the first set, 25-13.
Bradley (5-13, 0-5 MVC) bounced back in the second set and grabbed its first lead of the match at 3-2. From the very beginning of the set, it was back and forth. There were five ties and six lead changes in the set. ISU took the lead over for good at the 17-16 mark and held off a Bradley comeback to win the set, 25-23.
The third set was identical to the first, as Illinois State went up by six, 10-4, and took the set by a score of 25-13. Ashley Rosch tallied four of her seven kills in the final set.
With the win, ISU extended its winning streak over Bradley to nine matches.
The Redbirds will return home next weekend to host Evansville and Southern Illinois. Links for live stats and audio will be available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can receive live updates by following @RedbirdVB on Twitter.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.ÂÂÂ
