DENTON, Texas – The Illinois State volleyball team (2-1) won the North Texas Invitational on Saturday, despite a 3-1 setback to the Pepperdine Waves (RV). Pepperdine took the first (25-22), third (25-20) and fourth (25-17) sets, while the Redbirds edged the Waves in set two, 25-23. An all-tournament team is expected to be announced at the conclusion of the event.
Due to technical issues, no official stats were provided at the end of the match. When available, they will be posted on GoRedbirds.com.
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
On how Pepperdine challenged ISU…
"I think we didn't see their true colors yesterday during our scout. They have suffered injuries, lineup changes and we knew today that we'd see a different team – a team that was receiving votes in the top 25. They were much more collective and their side-out game was effective."
On Illinois State's performance against the Waves…
"We're a good serve and pass team and we're going to continue to work on that part of our game. They picked us apart a little bit, but we'll find our rhythm there – I'm not worried about that. We served aggressive and we had them out of system a lot. We'll continue to evolve there as our youth gets more touches and get more game experience. I'm excited about the direction we're headed."
On who stood out…
"I thought Sydney Holt was really steady all match. She hit .400, took decent volume and hit every set along the net – she was fantastic. Kaylee Martin had an exceptional game – terminal and efficient. We probably could have got her a little more volume later to help ease the pain a little as we were bleeding points at the last set, but overall she did great."
On looking ahead to next weekend…
"Today's match was a close one and it was two good volleyball teams playing hard. It was fun and I'd like to see that team again later in the season, because I think we'll be a lot different and they (Pepperdine) will continue to get better too. We can battle. We didn't win set one, but we played a lot better than we did in set one than in the previous games, so we've already grown. That's what we want to do every week – we want to get a little better and continue to evolve our lineup."
LEADING THE FLOCK - UNOFFICIAL
UP NEXT
Illinois State will continue its 2019 campaign in Tulsa, Oklahoma, next weekend, when it travels to play in the ORU Invitational. The Redbirds are scheduled to face the tournament host Golden Eagles, Little Rock and Air Force at the two-day event.
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