PEORIA, Ill. – Strong performances from Jaelyn Keene and Stef Jankiewicz propelled the Illinois State volleyball team to a 3-1 win over host Bradley Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum. Illinois State won by scores of 25-17, 27-29, 25-21, 25-21.

Keene tallied 22 kills on a .526 hitting percentage, while adding five blocks, five digs and two aces. Jankiewicz dished out 57 assists and collected 15 digs in the Redbirds win.

Sydney Holt and Juma Armando added 10 and 11 kills, respectively. Courtney Pence posted 19 digs, to lead five Redbirds posting double-digit digs.

"We had great contributions from different players all match," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "Bradley served very tough and it challenged us in a way we haven't had in a while. I was proud of our resiliency." 

The lead bounced back and forth early in the first set. Bradley took a 16-14 lead after scoring the first point out of the media timeout, but Illinois State (18-11, 11-5 MVC) answered with a nine-point run, which included four kills from Armando and a pair of service aces from Keene. .Another kill from Armando got the Redbirds to a set point, and an ace from Jankiewicz provided the set-winning point.

The second set came down to the final points as each team fought off set points. Illinois State was the first to have a chance to win the set when a kill from Keene gave the Redbirds a 24-23 lead. After Bradley fought off ISU's first set point, another kill from Keene set the Redbirds up again. Bradley scored the next two points to get to a set point of its own, but an Ali Line kill evened the score at 27-27. The hosts scored the next two points, however, to even the match at one set apiece.

Illinois State ran out to an 11-4 lead early in the third set, but Bradley (9-21, 2-14) fought back late to knot it up at 20-20. Two kills each from Keene and Holt got the Redbirds to a set point, at 24-21, and a solo block from Keene gave the Redbirds a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set featured eight tied scores and four lead changes. The final tied score came at 20-20, at which point the Redbirds ran off four-straight points – two coming on kills from Keene – to get to a match point. A kill from Ella Francis sealed the win.  

Illinois State returns to Redbird Arena to host its final regular-season matches next weekend, Nov. 17-18, against Indiana State and Evansville, respectively. Illinois State's senior players will be recognized after the match versus Evansville on Saturday.

Fans can purchase tickets for both matches online at GoRedbirds.com/Tickets, by calling (309) 438-8000, or by visiting the ticket office, located at the north entrance to Redbird Arena. Both matches will also be broadcast live as part of The Valley on ESPN3, and links for live stats, audio and video are available at GoRedbirds.com.

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