NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State volleyball (3-8, 0-0 MVC) fell 0-3 to in-state rival Illinois (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) in their second match of the Redbird Classic on Friday night in Redbird Arena.
Despite the Redbirds having an early lead in two of the first three sets, Illinois State couldn't match Illinois' .375 hitting percentage with each set ending with a score of 16-25.
The Illini relied heavily on their serving in the three-set victory, notching seven service aces, including four from defensive specialist Taylor Kuper.
Aliyah Moore was ISU's top performer offensively, finishing with seven kills, while Champaign, Illinois native, Allie Trame led the 'Birds defensively with five blocks.
Illinois State Athletics honored Dr. Linda Herman, a trailblazer for women's athletics at ISU, prior to the second match of the weekend for the Redbirds by unveiling a banner in Redbird Arena. Herman was both an administrator and coach at Illinois State and the ceremony honoring her kicks off a year-long celebration of the 50-year anniversary of Title IX.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Allie Trame matched her career-best with five blocks. She also recorded five blocks against Central Michigan (9/10/21).
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH LEAH JOHNSON
On the unveiling of the Dr. Herman banner:
"I came to ISU because of the tradition, and I see why it's the tradition because no one makes it about them. It's always about the next person in line to keep the tradition alive, the next player, the next administrator, the next coach. Our job is to leave it better than we found it and that's hard when we found it so good thanks to Dr. Herman and others of course."
On tomorrow's match-up with Mizzou:
"Every game there is a win within it. I would like it to be a scoreboard win, yes, but we're going to have to assess our lineup at this point and see if what we finished with is going to make the most sense for tomorrow. Mizzou got the win and got some confidence in a five-set thriller against North Texas so that gives us a lot of data to look at. They're kind of finding their way as well so I look forward to that matchup."
REMAINING SCHEDULE
Saturday, September 18
Illinois vs. North Texas, 11 a.m.
Illinois State vs. Missouri, 2 p.m.
UP NEXT
Illinois State volleyball will conclude the Redbird Classic tomorrow afternoon against Missouri. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN+/3.
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