OMAHA, Neb. – The Illinois State volleyball team (16-6) made its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night, falling in four sets to the Mountain West's UNLV (13-0). The Redbirds finished their campaign with an overall record of 16-6, winning both the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 >> Both teams came out firing, as each side was hitting at over a .300 clip in the opening set. A long rally resulted in Nicole Lund's second kill and a one-point edge for the Redbirds. UNLV responded with a 3-0 run to hold a 13-12 advantage, before Kaylee Martin's team-leading third kill squashed the Rebel run. Despite kills from three different Redbirds, UNLV kept a three-point cushion as ISU called a timeout, trailing 19-16. A 5-0 run by the Rebels carried UNLV to a 22-16 lead, before a kill from Sydney Holt ended the scoring streak. Three-straight kills by Illinois State cut into the Rebels' lead late in the set, but UNLV held on for the 25-21 opening-set win.
Set 2 >> Kills from Sarah Kushner and Holt leveled the second set early, before a solo block by Kushner pushed ISU ahead by one. An attacking error by the Rebels kept Illinois State in the lead, before they responded with a 3-0 run to take a 12-10 advantage for an ISU-called timeout. The Redbirds' block stayed big, as Holt teamed up with Tamara Otene for ISU's third team stuff in the match. Back-to-back kills from Otene off the bench cut into the Redbirds' deficit, while a three-point scoring run by ISU brought the Redbirds within one for a UNLV timeout. Out of the break, the Rebels fought off ISU's threat by closing on a 3-0 run to take the set, 25-21.
Set 3 >> A handful of UNLV errors helped the Redbirds hold a one-point lead, before the run continued for ISU, as kills from Martin and holt helped the Redbirds charge ahead, 9-6. A kill from Kaitlyn Prondzinski helped Illinois State stay in command, while Lund's fourth kill gave the Redbirds their largest lead of the match. The Rebels fought back to come within two, before four-straight points by ISU forced UNLV to call a timeout with the Redbirds leading, 16-10, midway through the set. Back-to-back kills from Otene and Lund extended Illinois State's lead to double digits. Martin's 11th kill lifted the Redbirds to set point, before another kill by the senior sealed it, 25-20.
Set 4 >> After a slow start, the Redbirds tallied four-straight points to come within one of the Rebels, sitting at a 6-5 deficit. UNLV bounced back out to a six-point advantage to force Illinois State to use a timeout. A kill from Kushner and solo block by Holt scored four-straight points to come within four of the Rebels, as UNLV held an 18-14 lead. A 5-0 run by the Rebels pushed UNLV back out in front by nine, before they grabbed the deciding set, 25-17.
LEADING THE FLOCK
QUOTING COACH JOHNSON
Overall thoughts on the match…
"Obviously, when you get to this point, you know it's going to be neck-and-neck. I think where UNLV played so well is from the service line and they kept putting pressure on us offensively. Overall, I thought our team was incredibly engaged and we executed our game plan. I couldn't be more proud of the senior class in particular, but the team as a whole. They have three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, four conference championships. They're a special team and it was a special season."
On the team's adjustments throughout the match…
"In the first set, we thought it was pretty back-to-back and we wanted to run our slide more. In set two, I flipped my outsides and we settled in with our passing. I went back to the other lineup in set three and I think our passing got more confident based on what we did in the second set and it bled into set three. Where we made an adjustment there, is we started defending the middle better and all of the tips, and then we converted. Then when you look at set four, they had to make a change and it was setting their right side. In all reality, our team was executing the game plan well and UNLV had to adjust and use those players differently"
On the post-match message to the team…
"I don't even know if I can recall it all because it's so hard. It's one thing to talk after a loss, but it's another thing to talk after your final game. In the very same moment, you're trying to address the match you just played. We want to recognize our seniors, so we gave each of them acknowledgment. It's so soon, but you also have to zoom out and look at the body of work. We've got a senior class that could go down as one of the all-time greats. I'm just so greatly to have been on their journey."
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