NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team (17-5, 9-1 MVC) won its fifth-straight match, and remained undefeated at Redbird Arena this season, with a straight-set win over Southern Illinois (4-18, 0-9 MVC) on Friday night.
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
On both team's slow start on offense…
"The rhythm was weird in the gym tonight. They (SIU) had a very different lineup than what we anticipated, and so it kind of took us a while to get in a groove against that. I think we could all step back and say it shouldn't have been about that, but I think it did affect us. We were making uncharacteristic errors, they were blocking us more than I think we anticipated with the different lineup in. We started grooving, had to climb back in set two, which worked in our advantage, because it forced us to play with fight. That fight led into set three, in which we hit .500.
On how important the team's second-set comeback was…
"I thought that was instrumental in demonstrating to one another one of our mindsets, which is to have some killer instinct in the second half of conference play. It doesn't matter the deficit, it doesn't matter the situation you're in, you're going to fight and you believe that you can overcome any deficit and I was really proud of the team for doing that."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Back-to-back hitting error by Salukis gave Illinois State its largest lead to start the match, as the Redbirds were sitting at a 7-5 lead, before Southern Illinois crawled back to level the set for the fifth time. Leading up to the media break, neither team held more than a one-point advantage over the other, until Kaylee Martin's first kill, and Southern Illinois' sixth hitting error, helped the Redbirds to a 12-9 lead. At the media timeout, Illinois State was sitting at a four-point edge over the Salukis behind a pair of kills from Marissa Stockman and Monica Miller. A service ace by Courtney Pence helped Illinois State take a 17-12 lead, before miscommunication by Southern Illinois forced the Salukis to use their first timeout. The Redbirds reached 20 first on Ali Line's second kill of the match as part of a 6-0 scoring run. Southern Illinois cut into Illinois State's lead, before a kill by Line captured the opening set for the Redbirds for the fifth-straight match with a 25-16 win.
Set 2 >> Â The fifth point into the match, Stef Jankiewicz notched her 11th double-double of the match with her 10th dig, to go with her 12 assists, despite the Redbirds trailing, 3-2. Illinois State used its first timeout, sitting at a four-point deficit to the Salukis, as Southern was on a 3-0 scoring run. A kill by Stockman ended the Salukis' run, and started some offensive momentum for Illinois State, before Southern Illinois jumped out to a seven-point advantage to force the Redbirds to use their final timeout. Out of the break, Lexi Varga's team-high sixth kill brought the ball back into the hands of Illinois State. A kill by Line, followed by a pair of Saluki hitting errors, brought the Redbirds within four of Southern Illinois, as the visitors used their first timeout of the set. Illinois State continued to chip away at the Saluki lead, as another kill by Varga had the Redbirds within two, sitting at a 16-14 disadvantage. Sydney Holt's second kill of the match put a defensive rally between both teams to an end, leveling the set at 16-all. Southern Illinois reached 20 points first, but back-to-back kills by the Redbirds brought Illinois State within one. Three-straight kills by Kaylee Martin helped kick-start the Redbirds' defense, as Illinois State fought back for a 25-20 second-set win, closing on an 8-0 scoring run.
Set 3 >> A serve by the Salukis skipped over the net, as Stef Jankiewicz turned around and collected her 12th dig to set up Varga's match-high 10th kill. The senior's kill marked the second match in as many outings that she has reached double figures in the category. Holt's fourth kill of the match helped the Redbirds reach double-digits first, as Illinois State was sitting at a 10-5 lead. With the Redbirds on a 5-0 scoring run, Southern Illinois called a timeout and regained possession out of the break, sitting at a seven-point deficit. Illinois State jumped back on a scoring run, this time a 3-0 pace, to force Southern Illinois to use its final timeout, trailing 15-6. The Redbirds continued to run up the score, closing on a 10-2 run, to take the third set, 25-8.
LEADING THE FLOCK
UP NEXT
Illinois State will close its five-match home stand tomorrow night against Missouri State. First serve between the Redbirds and the Bears is set for 7 p.m.
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