DEKALB, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team fought off six match points in the fourth set but host Northern Illinois cashed in on its seventh opportunity, earning a 3-1 win over the visiting Redbirds at Victor E. Court. NIU won by scores of 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 33-31.
Illinois State (4-6) was led by Jaelyn Keene's team-high 13 kills. Ali Line added eight kills, while Machayla Leonard and Sydney Holt chipped in seven each. Line led all players with six blocks.
Jordan Weatherless and Stef Jankiewicz dished out 18 and 26 assists, respectively. Courtney Pence led the Redbirds with 14 digs.
Northern Illinois was led by Kaylee Martin's match-high 25 kills.
"We were out of sorts from the start and had a hard time getting our bearings back," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "The NIU environment is loud and roucus and we got a little shook by it initially. It is a great learning experience for us before getting into the heavy road swing of conference."
After trading points early in the first set, Northern Illinois (1-11) used a four-point run to take a 12-9 lead and force an Illinois State timeout. Another four-point run made it a 17-11 lead, and yet another made it 23-16. Illinois State fought off a pair of set points late, but a kill from NIU's Chrystal McAlpin sealed the opening set win.
Illinois State created some separation midway through the second set with five-straight points to make it a 15-9 lead, but Northern Illinois chipped away and eventually got back to within one point late in the set, at 22-21, prompting both Redbird timeouts. Illinois State finished strong, though, with Keene and Jankiewicz teaming up for a block to get to set point, and a Lexi Wallen ace finishing it off.
The Redbirds held an early lead in the third set, but three points in a row gave the Huskies an 11-9 lead. An NIU service error ended the rally, but the hosts scored the next five points to take a commanding 16-10 lead. Illinois State fought back late, fighting off a pair of set points as part of a 6-1 run, but NIU's Martin and Meg Wolowicz paired up for a block on set point to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead in the match. Â
Illinois State built a six-point lead early in the fourth set only to see Northern Illinois rally late. The Huskies eventually got to a match point at 24-23, which triggered the first of six match points fought off by the Redbirds. Illinois State had a pair of set points in the marathon fourth set, but an NIU block gave the Huskies their seventh match point opportunity, and the hosts finally capitalized to win the match.
The Redbirds return to action at the Wildcat Classic, hosted by Arizona, this weekend. A full schedule, and links for live stats and video, are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
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