ST. LOUIS – Strong performances at the net and at the service line propelled the Illinois State volleyball team to a straight-sets win over Saint Louis at the Billikens' Marcia E. Hamilton Classic Friday night at Chaifetz Pavilion. ISU won by scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-17.
Illinois State (2-2) tallied 10 blocks and seven service aces in the win. Ali Line and Machayla Leonard paced the offense with nine kills apiece, while Lexi Wallen added eight. Jaelyn Keene led the blocking charge with seven (two solos, five assists). Courtney Pence and Keene tallied two aces each.
Stef Jankiewicz dished out a match-high 24 assists, while Pence led all players with 15 digs.
"I loved the team's desire to trust and stick to the game plan," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "SLU managed the first set well, so it would have been easy to lose trust in it, but we didn't and it paid off as we took control of sets two and three."
A back-and-forth opening set was decided late. Though neither led by more than three points at any juncture, Saint Louis (0-4) rattled off four-straight points late to take a 20-19 lead. After trading off the next four points, and with SLU leading 22-21, the Redbirds reclaimed the lead with back-to-back kills from Leonard and Jankiewicz. A Redbird service error knotted it back up at 23-all, but a Wallen kill got the Redbirds to a set point, and a solo block from Wallen moments later earned the Redbirds a first-set victory.
Illinois State never trailed in the second set. The Redbirds led by as many as six points, at 20-14, but the Billikens scored the next five points to get within one at 20-19. Illinois State closed out the set, however, by scoring the next five points. Three points came on blocks featuring Keene (one solo, two assists) and the final came on a Pence service ace.
Illinois State ran out to another big lead in the third set, only to see a six-point Saint Louis run cut the advantage to one point at 13-12. The Redbirds answered with a five-point run, though, and kills from Keene and Line down the stretch sealed the sweep.
The Redbirds return to the Hamilton Classic Saturday with matches against Kennesaw State and UC Irvine at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively. Links for live stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
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