GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Illinois State volleyball team earned a victory in its National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) first-round matchup versus IUPUI Thursday, dispatching the Jaguars in straight sets at Green Bay's Kress Events Center. ISU won by scores of 25-18, 25-12, 25-16.
The match sends Illinois State (22-12) to the NIVC's second round, where the Redbirds will take on host Green Bay (16-15) Friday at 6 p.m. The match will be carried live on ESPN3.
Thursday's win featured standout performances from several Redbirds, including junior libero Courtney Pence, who, with 14 digs, broke Illinois State's all-time career digs record.
Sydney Holt and Juma Armando cranked out 12 kills apiece, while Stef Jankiewicz distributed 38 assists. As a team, Illinois State hit a season-best .365.
"It was a great performance," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "We knew early on that it was going to be competitive, but it we could find a break and get in a flow, we could really take off, and we saw those windows.
"It's fun to be in the postseason and it's fun to win in the postseason, but we're already getting focused on scouting this next match."
IUPUI (16-15) scored the first two points of Thursday's match, but Illinois State answered with the next six. The Jaguars caught up quickly, however, and the teams traded points early until Illinois State pulled away late, finishing the set on a 7-2 run.
Illinois State never trailed in the second set. The Redbirds had four separate runs of three-plus points and totaled 19 kills in the set to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The Redbirds never trailed in the third set, either. ISU scored the first three points in the set and later used a five-point spree to take a 14-6 lead. Illinois State finished off the sweep with back-to-back kills from Armando.
Links for live stats and video for the Redbirds' NIVC match on Friday are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
