DES MOINES, Iowa – The Illinois State volleyball team (10-7, 3-2 MVC) opened the final leg of its four-match road swing with a sweep of Drake (7-12, 1-5 MVC) on Friday night. The Redbirds' three-set win marks their third straight-set victory of the Missouri Valley Conference slate.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Illinois State opened on a 4-0 scoring run with Carley Nicholson behind the service line. Kaylee Martin tallied her second kill of the match, as Drake called a timeout trailing 9-4. Emmy Ogogor and Kendee Hilliard teamed up on the block, after back-to-back blocks at the net by the Bulldogs, to help ISU to a 10-6 advantage. Back-to-back service aces by Drake and a ball-handling error by the Redbirds brought the Bulldogs within one, as ISU used its final timeout of the set. An ace by Kaity Weimerskirch pushed ISU back out by four, before the Redbirds took the opening set, 25-22.
Set 2 >> Weimerskirch continued her tough serving, opening the second set with her second service ace. A block by Drake gave the home team its first lead of the match, before the Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-4 advantage as a part of a 5-0 run. Out of an ISU-called timeout, the Redbirds got the ball back on Drake's fifth service error. Sarah Kushner delivered a service ace, before Holt's fourth kill leveled the set at seven-all. Drake responded with a 3-0 run to force the Redbirds to use their final timeout. A kill by Lynch pushed the Redbirds back out in front, starting a 3-0 scoring run for ISU. The Redbirds took a 2-0 lead in the match, as Martin's team-leading 10th kill, behind .500 hitting, gave ISU the 25-19 second-set win.
Set 3 >> A block by Ogogor and Martin helped ISU take an early 5-3 lead in the deciding set, as Martin's first service ace – and fifth for the Redbirds – pushed ISU to a 9-5 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Hilliard aided in the Redbirds' efforts to take an 11-6 lead – their largest of the set – and Drake called a timeout. The scoring run continued for ISU, as the Redbirds jumped out to a seven-point advantage on Hilliard's sixth kill and a block by Holt and Stef Jankiewicz. Another block by the setter and Ogogor helped the Redbirds charge ahead, 19-12, before ISU secured the set, 25-15, on Hilliard's three-set career-high seventh kill.
LEADING THE FLOCK
UP NEXT
Illinois State will wrap up its four-match road swing tomorrow night at UNI. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. at the McLeod Center.
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