NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team (2-2) battled in its first of two matches against Cincinnati (1-0) on Friday night, falling in four sets at Redbird Arena. Sarah Kushner and Kaylee Martin led the way for the Redbirds, each turning in a double-double.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> It was a back-and-forth battle from the start, as a five different Redbirds contributed points off kills. Martin's third kill of the match, followed by a kill from Nicole Lund, carried ISU into the media timeout with a slim 15-14 lead. Cincinnati called a timeout trailing 21-18, after kills from Kushner and Kaitlyn Prondzinski helped the Redbirds jump out to their largest lead. The Bearcats responded, but back-to-back attacking errors by the visitors handed ISU the set, 25-21.
Set 2 >> Junior Carley Nicholson checked into the match as a serving sub in the second set, as she stepped behind the line and delivered an ace to give ISU some life early on. Cincinnati responded with a 5-1 scoring run to hold an 8-4 advantage, before Lund's third kill of the night put the Bearcats' run to a halt. The redshirt freshman teamed up with Stef Jankiewicz at the net for ISU's first block of the match, before a Kushner kill leveled the score at nine-all. A dump over the net by Jankiewicz helped the Redbirds to a one-point edge, before ISU called a timeout trailing by one. With Cincinnati sitting at set point, the Redbirds responded with a 3-0 scoring run with blocks by rookies Prondzinski and Cassie Jordan, and a service ace from Kushner, but a Bearcat kill sealed it, 25-22.
Set 3 >> Kendee Hilliard stepped into the match off the bench, contributing a pair of kills in the third to keep the Redbirds within reach of Cincinnati. With Nicholson behind the line, ISU went on a 3-0 run as the junior's second ace of the match tied the set at 11-all. A block by Lund and Hilliard pushed the Redbirds ahead, forcing the Bearcats to call a timeout. Another ace by Nicholson out of the break kept the Redbirds running, holding a 15-11 lead. A kill from Martin helped her reach her second double-double of the season, before Cincinnati used a 5-0 run to grab a 26-24 third-set win.
Set 4 >> Nicholson's fifth service ace of the match gave the Redbirds their first lead of the set, holding the 4-3 advantage early on. Trailing by four, ISU was forced to call a timeout. The Bearcats surged ahead, 19-11, behind a 6-1 scoring run, before a pair of attacking errors helped bring the Redbirds back within reach. Martin recorded her team-leading 15th kill, but Cincinnati used a big block to close the deciding set, 25-16.
LEADING THE FLOCK
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
Overall thoughts on the match…
"It was a tough match because both sides are missing key players. Rhythm was tough. Some positives were that we passed the ball well and our left side still scored at a good rate. Everyone tried to play their role, but we just had a hard time getting points and stopping their lefts."
On the turning point in the match…
"We talk about competitive maturity and what that looks like in tough moments. I think we thought at that point in the third set during the run that it wouldn't last long – that's not a good thing. So, we need to make things happen on our side of the net. Have a plan, be intentional and purposeful with our point scoring and our side-out game. I think their (Cincinnati) outside's ability to score flustered us at times, and then once that happened, it took the wind out of our sails. The difference was they were winning the long rallies."
UP NEXT
Illinois State will play part two of its home-and-home series with Bradley on Monday in Peoria, Illinois. First serve between the Redbirds and the Braves is set for 6 p.m.
Game dates, opponents, times and locations are subject to change. To view Illinois State's full schedule and find ways to follow the match, visit GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
