NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team (21-5, 13-1 MVC) continued its winning ways on Friday night, with a straight-set win against the visiting Drake Bulldogs (17-11, 5-8 MVC). With the victory, the Redbirds remained a perfect 8-0 at home, picking up their ninth-straight win.
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
Overall thoughts on the match…
"I am really proud of the team. We had a really clean offense tonight, and it's always great to get a three-set win, especially against a team (Drake) that I thought battled really hard. Drake threw a 5-1 at us, a 6-2 at us and had to change personnel to give us different looks. I thought our team made great adjustments and communicated well to be prepared. Our offense was clicking. We hit .392 with less than five errors a set. We played really sharp tonight."
On how Drake challenged the team tonight, and how UNI will challenge the team tomorrow…
"I thought Drake really challenged us from the service line. They did a nice job of serving deep short, and working us there. We stayed pretty steady, and didn't let it frazzle us. I think that is something that UNI does as well, so it was nice to step in tonight and kind of get in a groove with that. I think that will help transfer to tomorrow."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Back-to-back kills by Ali Line helped level the set at five-all early on. Drake held a consistent two-point advantage leading up to the media break, before a kill by Kaylee Martin brought the Redbirds within one, and a kill in the next point by Marissa Stockman knotted the set at 10-all. Monica Miller helped Illinois State take its first lead of the match with her first kill, as the Redbirds jumped out to a four-point lead, reaching the media timeout with a 15-11 edge, on a solo block by Lexi Varga. Illinois State continued to run out of the media break, forcing Drake to use its first timeout with Illinois State leading 18-11, after a Bulldog attack error and pair of Redbird kills. Senior Jordan Weatherless checked into the match, setting up Line's fourth kill, for a seven-point advantage for the Redbirds. Drake began chipping away at Illinois State's lead, coming within three points, as the Redbirds used their first timeout. Illinois State maintained its lead, taking the opening set, 25-21, on Miller's fourth kill of the match.
Set 2 >> Drake took an early lead in the second set, before back-to-back kills by Line leveled the set at four-all, and a Bulldog hitting error pushed the Redbirds ahead. The Bulldogs took an 8-6 lead on a service ace, forcing Illinois State to use an early timeout. Illinois State continued to push out of the timeout, crawling back for a 10-9 lead on Martin's seventh kill to force Drake to use a timeout, as the Redbirds were hitting .400 in the match. A kill by Stef Jankiewicz on a Drake overpass, extended Illinois State's lead to five. Out of the break, Varga helped the Redbirds keep their momentum with her fifth kill of the match. A hitting error by the Bulldogs brought Illinois State to 20 points, before the Redbirds secured the second set, 25-13, on a tip over the Bulldog block by Line, with Carley Nicholson behind the service line.
Set 3 >> After closing the second set on a 9-0 run, the Redbirds continued this trend, opening the third with a pair of kills from Stockman. Drake leveled the set twice, and took a lead, despite a trio of kills by Varga and one from Line. The Redbirds evened the set on a kill by Martin, before drawing out for a three-point advantage behind kills from Stockman and Miller, as Illinois State was hitting .429 compared to Drake's .190 clip. The Bulldogs pulled with one on an Illinois State hitting error, but the Redbirds quickly regained their momentum, drawing out to a 15-12 lead. Illinois State jumped out to an 18-14 lead on a pair of Bulldog hitting errors and a kill by Miller, to force Drake to use a timeout. Out of the break, Nicholson delivered a service ace, before a block by Jankiewicz and Line continued the Redbirds' momentum. Illinois State captured the third set, 25-18, on a solo block to pull off the season sweep of the Bulldogs.
LEADING THE FLOCK
UP NEXT
Illinois State will close its 2018 home slate tomorrow night, when No. 25 UNI visits Redbird Arena for a key Missouri Valley Conference match-up.
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