NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team (12-11, 8-3 MVC) picked up their fifth-straight win and second-consecutive sweep, topping Drake in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-19). With this win over the Bulldogs (8-10, 3-7 MVC), the 'Birds lead the all-time series with Drake 68-12.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In what would be their sixth-straight set victory, Illinois State dominated the Bulldogs offensively with 16 kills, including eight from sophomore outside hitter Tamara Otene, compared to Drake's six in the opening set. An 8-0 scoring run from ISU, that included three kills from Otene put the 'Birds ahead 17-11 and would be key in the set victory. The Bulldogs responded well to Illinois State's run, tying it up at 20 before the Redbirds answered with five-straight points to get the win, 25-20.
The final two sets were consistent for the 'Birds, closing with a 25-19 win in both set two and three. Illinois State closed out the match, hitting .364 in set three to continue their five-match winning streak.
Otene led the 'Birds with 19 kills and has now registered at least 10 kills in every single Missouri Valley Conference match this season, including a 12-game streak with 10+ kills. She has 20 total double-digit kill performances on the year. The Auckland, New Zealand native also added 10 digs for a double-double effort.
Defensively, junior libero Kaity Weimerskirch led the way with 17 digs, marking the 21st time in 23 games that she has finished with at least 10 digs.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH LEAH JOHNSON
On not losing any sets this weekend:
"I like winning. It feels good. This was our third sweep this year and our competitive nature tends to waiver as we get some leads and then we relax and become high error and give some sets away in my opinion, or we allow teams to get confidence. That third set is the hardest set to win in any volleyball game and I think we've done a nice job of closing out thus far as of late."
On sweeping Drake after previously getting swept by Drake to open conference play:
"We said before the match that this is kind of a revenge match. They took us in three on the road and I think we battled really well in that game. We were down some players and had just put together our 15th lineup and were very competitive so we knew we had a good opportunity to beat them, but it was good to see it and trust it."
QUOTE FROM FRESHMAN SETTER KATELYN LEFLER
On reaching 500 career assists last night vs. UNI:
"It feels really good. It's a big accomplishment, but I know where I'm going too and there's so much more growth. It also shows how good our hitters are and how much trust we have in our hitters too. I can set anyone on the court, and I can trust that they can get a kill. The only way I get assists is if they get kills so I think it's a big props to our hitters too."
UP NEXT
The Redbirds hit the road again next weekend to play at Southern Illinois and Missouri State, Oct. 29-30.
For all latest on Illinois State volleyball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
