NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State volleyball Head Coach Leah Johnson earned her 100th win as a Redbird in dominating fashion as she led ISU to a three-set victory (25-13, 26-24, 25-10) over Evansville on Friday night inside Redbird Arena. The Redbirds (15-11, 11-3 MVC) extended their winning streak to eight-straight matches, including 17-straight set wins and five-straight three-set sweeps with tonight's victory over the Purple Aces (17-7, 7-6 MVC).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds capitalized on a season-high 25 attacking errors by the Purple Aces, forcing Evansville to its worst hitting percentage of the season at .070. With just 32 kills against the Redbirds, Evansville has only had fewer kills one other time this season back on October 1 in a 0-3 loss at Loyola-Chicago.
Illinois State took set one in dominating fashion, beating the Purple Aces 25-13. The Redbirds were able to limit Evansville to just eight kills, while forcing nine errors in the opening set. The 'Birds held Evansville to single digits nearly the entire first set until the score reached 22-10, but ISU sealed the victory with a kill by sophomore Tamara Otene.
Set two was a battle that saw four ties, but Illinois State was able to remain composed throughout and never trailed. The Redbirds saw their largest lead of the set at 11-4 before Evansville dwindled the lead to two behind a 5-0 run of their own. Back-to-back service aces by the Purple Aces' Laura Ruiz tied the set up at 16 to force an ISU timeout, but freshman Aliyah Moore came out to immediately nail two kills and regain the advantage. Illinois State would ultimately win the set two battle, 26-24, despite two more ties at 21 and 24 in the set.
The Redbirds jumped out to an early 6-0 start in what would be the final set of the night, never allowing the Purple Aces to cut the lead to fewer than five. Evansville was never able to pull together a run in the final set with the 'Birds keeping UE from ever scoring three-straight points in set three. Otene was a key part in closing out the final set with involvement in three of ISU's final six points. Her two kills and a solo block were a part of an 11-3 closing run, including four-straight points to end the match and seal up Coach Johnson's 100th win as a Redbird.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- For the 22nd time this season, sophomore Tamara Otene has posted 10+ kills, recording a match-leading 13 against the Purple Aces on an impressive .440 hitting percentage, which marks the fourth time this season she's hit above .400. Otene also added six blocks, including three solo blocks, just one shy of her career best.
- Four different Redbirds, including Otene, finished the night with five blocks led by Nicole Lund with seven. Aliyah Moore added six along with Otene, while Cassie Jordan had five against Evansville.
- As a team the Redbirds hit a season-best .444 percent with 39 total kills and recorded a season-low number of attacking errors with just three to Evansville's 25.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH LEAH JOHNSON
On getting win number 100 as the Head Coach at Illinois State:
"It's pretty special. You work really hard, and you worry about the next win over and over again and the next thing you know there's this milestone in your career and it sneaks up on you. Personally, I try to coach this way and I think our teams and our athletes try to play this way, but it's about the next match, over and over. It always feels like win number one over and over again. It is really special, and this is for Redbird volleyball, for the alumni, for the students, for the community, it's not just a win for me – it takes so much more than that."
UP NEXT
The Illinois State volleyball team will return to the court tomorrow, November 6 when they host Indiana State at 6 p.m. inside Redbird Arena.
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