NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team (11-5, 9-3 MVC) swept Evansville (5-13, 4-12 MVC) on Monday night, while jumping atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a Bradley loss at Missouri State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Illinois State opened the match on a 7-1 run, behind kills from three different Redbirds and a trio of Evansville errors. The Purple Aces crawled its way back to come within one of the Redbirds to force an ISU timeout. Illinois State responded with a 4-0 scoring run, that included a kill from Nicole Lund, to help the Redbirds sit at a 15-11 advantage midway through the set. Junior Carley Nicholson subbed into the match and immediately delivered an ace to give the Redbirds a three-point lead. A kill from Sydney Holt pushed ISU to set point, while a kill from fellow senior Kaylee Martin sealed the opening set, 25-20.
Set 2 >> An ace dropped in the back corner of the court by Stef Jankiewicz helped fuel a three-point run by the Redbirds to start the second set. Evansville climbed back to knot the set at 12-all, and it was a back-and-forth battle through a majority of the set as neither team led by more than a point. After trailing by three and calling a timeout, Illinois State inched its way back on a kill and an ace from Martin. The Redbirds and the Purple Aces reached set point four times, as Alyssa Kronberg checked into the match and stepped behind the service line to deliver an ace and lift ISU to a 27-26 advantage. A kill from Martin on the outside helped the Redbirds secure the second set, 28-26, and jump out to a two-set lead over Evansville.
Set 3 >> Tamara Otene teamed up with Lund on the outside for block by the Redbirds to set the tone in the deciding set. Illinois State never trailed, as Holt's team-leading 11th kill propelled the Redbirds to a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Out of the break, the Redbirds continued to run with a kill from Sarah Kushner and handful of Evansville errors to keep ISU at a four-point cushion. Another kill from Holt, and stuff by the middle blocker and Jankiewicz, gave the Redbirds the 25-19 third-set win and series sweep of the Purple Aces.
LEADING THE FLOCK
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
On the impact of the team's five seniors and the legacy they have left…
"I don't know a season without them. They're what I see as Redbird Volleyball and that's an incredibly high standard. They're exceptionally competitive and just champions every day in everything they do."
On the team's determination to survive four set points in the second set…
"That was literally our mindset. We talked about being unwavered by any great play on their (Evansville's) end. They're a great team. It speaks to how good our conference is when that's the ninth-place team in our league."
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will hit the road to close the regular season at Southern Illinois, March 27-28. Illinois State will serve as the host for the 2020-21 MVC Volleyball Championship, April 1-3, at Redbird Arena.
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.
