NORMAL, Ill. – For the first time in nearly two weeks, the Illinois State volleyball team (8-5, 6-3 MVC) took the court and swept the league-leading Missouri State Bears (12-4, 8-3 MVC) in straight sets, holding the visitors to their lowest hitting percentage (.115) in Missouri Valley Conference play this year.
With her 15 kills in the match, senior standout Kaylee Martin becomes the only three-year player in the 1,000-kills club at Illinois State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Illinois State opened the match on a 4-1 run, behind kills from three different Redbirds. A balanced offense attack resulted in a commanding 12-6 lead, as the Bears called their final timeout after a service ace delivered by Kaylee Martin. A pair of kills by Missouri State brought the visitors within two mid-way through the set, but a solo block on the outside by Martin pushed the Redbirds back out by six. Stef Jankiewicz got in on the scoring, registering a kill to lift ISU to set point, before a kill from Nicole Lund sealed the opening frame, 25-20.
Set 2 >> The Redbirds held Missouri State to .026 hitting in the second, despite 12 ties in the set. Martin, Jankiewicz and Sydney Holt teamed up in the middle for the triple stuff, as Illinois State held a slim 15-13 lead going into the media break. A kill by the Bears, and attacking error by ISU, leveled the set at 23-all. Another kill from Martin, followed by an attacking error by MSU, handed the Redbirds the second set, 26-24.
Set 3 >> After Missouri State opened the third set with a kill, the Redbirds never trailed, leading by as much as five approaching the media timeout. A 5-2 run late in the set brought the Bears within reach of ISU, but Martin's 15th kill sealed the sweep, 25-21.
LEADING THE FLOCK
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
On the overall performance of the team…
"We were excited to be back on the court and we are excited to keep getting better. We weren't sure what to expect, other than that our team would play hard because that's just the standard, regardless of our circumstance. I was really pleased, but our work isn't done yet. I told the team we need to look at this weekend as a package, not a single match, and try to win the weekend."
On finding success in Sunday matches…
"I think we do a nice job with scout and I think we focus on us. Our team know the opponents, but we also know how and what we need to do to score our own points. We don't rely on their errors and at the end of the day, we try to win the serve-and-pass battle, because regardless that's going to keep us in every match. Now that they've (Missouri State) seen our serving, and we've got a sense of their rhythm, we're going to scout tomorrow the same way we prepared for today."
UP NEXT
Illinois State will wrap up its two-game series against the Bears on Monday at 4 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.
