PEORIA, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team (3-3, 1-1 MVC) was edged by Bradley (1-1, 1-1 MVC) on Monday night at Renaissance Coliseum, falling by set scores of 27-25, 27-25 and 25-23.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Bradley jumped out to an early 8-5 lead, forcing the Redbirds to call a timeout despite a pair of kills from Sarah Kushner. Back-to-back kills from Kendee Hilliard off the bench added some life and ended the Bradley run, before a service ace from Jessica D'Ambrose brought some momentum in favor of ISU. A kill out of the back row from Kushner forced Bradley to call a timeout with the set leveled at 16-all. Kaitlyn Prondzinski added to the scoring, giving ISU a one-point edge, before she teamed up with Cassie Jordan for the Redbirds' first block of the match. ISU's third ace, this time delivered by Carley Nicholson, pushed the Redbirds out in front, 22-19. Nora Janka dumped it over the net to bring the Redbirds to set point, before the Braves climbed back to seal the opening frame, 27-25.
Set 2 >> The Redbirds trailed early, before Kushner's 11th kill ended Bradley's run and an attacking error by the Braves knot the set at 12-all. A service error by the Braves carried ISU into the media timeout with a one-point cushion. Illinois State kept its lead on a kill from Nicole Lund, while another error behind the service line by Bradley kept the Redbirds out in front. Bradley regained its lead, forcing ISU to call a timeout, trailing 19-18. With the Braves sitting at set point, a kill from Kushner on the outside squashed Bradley's momentum, as the Redbirds crawled back to level the set at 24-all. After a Bradley-called timeout, it was a back-and-forth battle as the Braves secured the second set with an identical score.
Set 3 >> Illinois State jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage behind a trio of kills from Lund. A block by the Braves helped Bradley even the score, before storming back for a 14-10 lead and Redbird timeout. ISU used a serving error by the Braves to start a 4-0 scoring run after a handful of Bradley errors and Kushner's match-leading 16th kill. Out of a Bradley-called timeout, the Redbirds continued to erase their five-point deficit, jumping out to a 19-15 advantage behind back-to-back aces from Kendal Meier. Tied once again, this time at 22-all, the Braves won the side-out battle, grabbing the deciding set, 25-23.
LEADING THE FLOCK
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
On team's overall performance…
"Overall, I'm very proud of the fight our team showed tonight. There was never a point that we checked out or took off. There was this drive and intensity and purpose. I also thought they were fighting really hard for each other, and there was a unity that made me more competitive."
On team's aggressive serving…
"We've been aggressive from behind the service line. I thought they (Bradley) passed better this time around, but we still were able to come up with eight aces. We got them out of system on a couple good runs and that kept us in the match. For all three sets to go deuce, and two of the three to go extra point deuce, I'm so pleased with the team's effort."
UP NEXT
Illinois State, who is receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Poll for the second-straight week, will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, to take on the Sycamores in a two-game set, Feb. 7-8.
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.
