NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team won the first set but dropped the next three as UC Irvine secured a 3-1 win over the Redbirds Saturday afternoon at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic. UC Irvine won by scores of 17-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20.
Illinois State (2-4) was led by Jaelyn Keene's team-high 16 kills. Stef Jankiewicz posted a double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs. Courtney Pence led all players with 28 digs.
The loss to UC Irvine came following a 3-1 loss to Kennesaw State earlier Saturday.
"We are still trying to find our identity," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "Our defense has been exceptional. Now we need to match those efforts on the offensive front."
After a quick start from UC Irvine, Illinois State scored four-straight points to take a 7-6 lead and the Redbirds never trailed again in the first set. A five-point binge midway through the set gave ISU a 15-9 lead, and another five-point spurt made it a 21-10 advantage. A kill from Machayla Leonard on set point gave the Redbirds a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Anteaters evened the match in the second set. A 4-0 run gave UC Irvine an 11-6 lead, and a six-point blitz widened the gap, making it a 17-9 edge. Illinois State answered with a four-point run to force a UCI timeout, but the Anteaters matched the Redbirds point-for-point the rest of the way to even things up.
UC Irvine (6-0) carried momentum into the third set, taking leads of 5-2 and 10-5. The Anteaters maintained a five-point lead until late in the set, when Illinois State got within two at 21-19, but UCI got to a set point with a kill from Idara Akpakpa, and won the set moments later with another kill from Akpakpa.
Illinois State started strong in the fourth set, scoring the first four points to prompt a UCI timeout. The Redbirds then stretched their lead to 11-5 to force UCI's second timeout. The Anteaters rebounded quickly, though, scoring five-straight points out of the second timeout to get within a point at 11-10. A four-point run later tied it up at 15-15. A five-point run shortly after gave UCI a 20-16 lead and the Anteaters held on from there.
The Redbirds return home to host their first matches of 2017 next weekend. Illinois State will host the Redbird Classic, welcoming Cincinnati, Dayton and Seton Hall for a round-robin tournament at Redbird Arena. A full schedule of matches can be found at GoRedbirds.com. All three of the Redbirds matches will be streamed on ESPN3 and tickets for all matches are available at GoRedbirds.com/Tickets.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
