NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team's season came to a close Thursday as Northern Iowa overcame a first-set loss to earn a 3-1 win over the Redbirds in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Hammons Student Center. Northern Iowa won by scores of 25-27, 25-23, 25-16, 25-19.
Ashley Rosch led the Redbirds with 17 kills and 16 digs, while Courtney Pence matched a career high with 34 digs. Jordan Weatherless and Jacqueline Twing dished out 19 and 24 assists, respectively. Aly Dawson added nine kills, while Ali Line and Jaelyn Keene chipped in seven apiece.
The loss brought an end to the career of Rosch, who earlier in the day became Illinois State's first four-time All-MVC First-Team selection.
"Northern Iowa played well tonight. Their serve receive and defense were on point and really gave their offense a lot of options and good looks," said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. "We're going to miss Ashley, but she has given our returners a great example of what it takes to be a successful student-athlete in the MVC."
A close first set featured 12 tied scores, four lead changes and each team fighting off a set point. Northern Iowa was the first to spoil Illinois State's set point, with the Redbirds leading, 24-23. The Panthers got their shot moments later, when they took a 25-24 lead, but a kill from Dawson, followed by a Dawson service ace, gave the Redbirds another opportunity at set point, and the Redbirds cashed it in with a double block from Keene and Weatherless.
The second set was similarly close and followed a similar script early on, with eight ties and six lead changes. Illinois State (22-10) built the biggest lead of the set at 20-15, but Northern Iowa (19-13) used a 7-2 run to tie the match, thanks to four-straight kills from Piper Thomas. A service ace from Kendyl Sorge got the Panthers to set point, and an Illinois State service error moments later sent the two teams into the intermission tied at one set apiece.
Northern Iowa shot out to an early lead of 5-1, and later a 9-2 advantage, in the third set. The Panthers led by as many as nine points, but the Redbirds closed to within five points, at 19-14,with a 4-0 run, but Northern Iowa answered with 4-0 run of its own and finished off the set shortly after with a kill from Kayla Haneline.
The Panthers led early in the fourth set, but the Redbirds fought back to tie it at 12-12. The Redbirds grabbed a lead at 15-14, but four-straight Northern Iowa points gave the Panthers the lead for good. The Panthers sealed the match with back-to-back kills from Bri Weber.
The Redbirds concluded their season with an overall record of 22-10. After going 27-6 a year ago, Illinois State's back-to-back 20-win seasons are the program's first since 1997 and 1998.
Northern Iowa will advance to face top-seeded Wichita State (24-8) at 5 p.m. Friday.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
