SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Illinois State volleyball team (9-4, 1-0 MVC) swept Missouri State (7-7, 0-1 MVC) to open Missouri Valley Conference play with a win for the fourth time in five seasons, ending the Bears' win streak of 34-straight league matches and 13-straight matches at home. Additionally, Illinois State's first win against Missouri State under the direction of second-year head coach Leah Johnson marks the first against her former head coach, Melissa Stokes.
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
On starting MVC play with a win…
"This (Missouri State) is a good program and a well-coached program. We were able to force them to make adjustments and I was extremely impressed with our team's poise to stay dialed in and play for one another. We never took a play off and forced them to earn points. We played hard and that was a great thing to see."
On ending Missouri State's conference win streak…
"We are such a different team this year, and for me, it is always about playing well and being as good as we can play on the road. We are playing one match at a time and it was great to beat a good Missouri State team. We stayed focus from time we left Redbird Arena to the last point of the match on their home court."
On what the team will have to do against Southern Illinois…
"It is going to be about the focus on running the pace, imposing our style of play and staying in our system. In moments when it's close, we will need to respond the way we did today to repeat a solid win."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> It was a back-and-forth fight from the start, as the two teams exchanged points to open the match. The Redbirds drew out to a 9-5 lead with Lexi Varga's third kill in as many tries to force Missouri State to use a timeout. Illinois State continued to run up the score, drawing out to a 13-7 advantage. A bad set by the Bears' setter helped the Redbirds reach 20 first, sitting at a 20-13 advantage, but Missouri State rebounded with three quick points to close in on the Redbirds and force Illinois State to use its first timeout. Out of the timeout, the seesaw continued, but a service ace by Monica Miller sealed the opening frame, 25-20, for the Redbirds.
Set 2 >> Missouri State held a 4-3 lead early in the second set, but the Redbirds reached an 8-5 lead on kills by Varga, Ali Line, Ella Francis and Stef Jankiewicz. Hitting .404 as a team, Varga and Francis each had tallied a team-high six kills to help Illinois State hold the 10-7 advantage. Missouri State bounced back out of a timeout to go on a 3-0 scoring run to pull within one of the Redbirds, as Illinois State held a slim 15-14 lead. The first tie of the set came at 16-all, but the Redbirds regained the lead with Varga's ninth kill of the match. With Illinois State reaching 20 first for the second-straight set on a block by Line and Monica Miller, the Bears called a timeout. Out of the break, Illinois State closed on a 7-0 scoring run to take the second set, 25-18.
Set 3 >> The Bears opened the third set on a 5-0 run, before a kill by Marissa Stockman put the Redbirds on the board. With Missouri State holding an 8-2 lead, Francis' eighth kill of the match put the ball back in the hands of the Redbirds to start a run by Illinois State. A 3-0 run by the Redbirds had Illinois State within two, as Missouri State held just a 9-7 lead. Illinois State's fourth block of the match knot the set at 10-all, before Miller's ninth kill of the match pushed the Redbirds ahead. The Bears bounced back to tie it up again, but a kill by Stockman gave Illinois State a 16-15 lead, as back-to-back kills by Sydney Holt propelled the Redbirds to a 20-16 lead. A kill by Francis helped Illinois State open league play with a win with a 25-18 third-set win.
LEADING THE FLOCK
UP NEXT
Illinois State will continue its road stint and conference season tomorrow night at 7 p.m., when the Redbirds travel to Carbondale, Illinois, to face the Southern Illinois Salukis.
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