NORMAL, Ill. - Junior Kaitlyn Prondzinski recorded a career-high 21 kills in a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts before senior Sarah Kushner became the 17th Redbird to reach 1,000 career digs as the Illinois State volleyball team completed a stunning comeback in a five-set victory over Green Bay to open Illinois State action in front of 1,803 fans at Redbird Arena in 2022.
Prondzinski recorded a team-high 17 kills in the nightcap while Kushner had 15 kills and 15 digs as Illinois State (3-2) rallied from a 7-2 fifth-set deficit and survived two match points against Green Bay (2-3). The 'Birds also trailed after three sets.
Freshman Aida Shadewald added 13 kills and 14 digs against Green Bay and senior Nicole Lund posted seven kills and six blocks.
Illinois State honored first-year head coach Allie Matters prior to the morning match and revealed its 2021 MVC Tournament Championship banner prior to the evening match.
SET SCORES
Illinois State wins vs Oral Roberts (3-1): 25-16, 25-13, 23-25, 25-12
Illinois State wins vs Green Bay (3-2): 25-27, 26-24, 18-25, 25-20, 20-18
ILLINOIS STATE STATS LEADERS
vs Oral Roberts
Kills: Kaitlyn Prondzinski (21 - career high)
Digs: Kaity Weimerskirch and Maggi Weller (11 - career high for Weller)
Assists: Nora Janka (45)
Service Aces: Nora Janka and Regan Haith (3)
Total Blocks: Regan Haith (5)
vs Green Bay
Kills: Kaitlyn Prondzinski (17)
Digs: Kaity Weimerskirch (19)
Assists: Katelyn Lefler (39)
Service Aces: Kaity Weimerskirch and Aida Shadewald (2)
Total Blocks: Nicole Lund (6)
ILLINOIS STATE NOTES
vs Oral Roberts
-Illinois State (.351) outhit Oral Roberts (.106)
-Illinois State recorded nine service aces (all in the first two sets) and has at least nine aces in the first four matches to start the season (six in nightcap)
-Sophomore Maggi Weller recorded a career-high 11 digs.
vs Green Bay
-Illinois State (.183) was outhit by Green Bay (.237)
-Kushner recorded her third double-double of the season
-Three Redbirds had double-digit kills (Prondzinski, 17; Kushner, 15; and Shadewald, 13) and three Redbirds had double-digit digs (senior Kaity Weimerskirch, 19; Kushner 15; Shadewald, 14)
HEAD COACH ALLIE MATTERS QUOTES
After beating ORU: "I thought we did a really good job, playing at 10 a.m. is just tough no matter what…I thought we did a really good job of coming out strong."
After beating GB: "The highs were high, and the lows were low and luckily we finished on a high note. Every match, I want to learn something about my team and today I learned that there's some grit and intensity. We're the comeback queens right now and it's exhausting me, but it feels really good."
SARAH KUSHNER QUOTE
On 1,000 digs: "I pride myself on being a team player, but I'm really proud of myself. I push myself every day and every single practice - that's a really big accomplishment and I feel like it reflects on my growth here"
UP NEXT
Illinois State plays at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday against SEMO to conclude the Redbird Classic.
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