SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Illinois State volleyball team were on the road for the penultimate time in 2023 as the 'Birds faced off with the Missouri State Bears Saturday, dropping a three-set sweep from the Hammons Student Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears would take the first three points of set one and would never relinquish their lead. The 'Birds would keep it close as they would not trail by more than four through the first 20 set points.
However, as the score read 11-9 in favor of the Bears, the home team started pulling as the lead grew to as many as five, including 21-16 to require an ISU timeout. Out of the timeout, Missouri State scored four of the last six points to secure the first set victory, 25-18.
The second set saw Missouri State continued their momentum from set one as the Bears held a 13-8 lead before it was the Redbirds rallying back to knot things up. As the score read 14-10, the 'Birds saw a pair of attack errors from the Bears and a kill by Caitlyn Little to knot the score at 14 apiece and a Bears timeout.
As the sides traded the lead back-and-forth out of the timeout, set two would then see three lead changes and two ties before the home team capitalized to lead by as many as three on multiple occasions, including the final score of 25-22.
Much like set one, the Bears took an early lead and never let go of it as the lead grew to as many as 10 (22-12) for Missouri State. The Bears remained composed throughout the remainder of the set, winning set three 25-14.
Illinois State drops to 11-18 overall and 9-8 in MVC play while the Bears improve to 15-14 overall and 9-8 in MVC play.
SET SCORES
Illinois State swept by Missouri State (0-3): 18-25, 22-25, 14-25
ILLINOIS STATE STATS LEADERS
Kills:Â Aida Shadewald (12)
Digs:Â Mari Hinkle (21)
Assists: Emily Weber (37)
Service Aces:Â Three (1)
Total Blocks:Â Regan Haith (3)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Illinois State (.264) was outhit by Missouri State (.394)
- Saturday saw freshman Madison Smith and senior Nora Janka as part of the Redbird starting lineup. This is Smith's second start this season while Saturday marks the first start for Janka in 2023.
UP NEXT
The Illinois State volleyball team wraps up the regular season with a trip to Peoria, Illinois next Wednesday to face off with the Bradley Braves. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT.
For all latest on Illinois State volleyball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
