SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Illinois State volleyball team's season came to a close with a tough four-set loss to Missouri State on Sunday in the first round of MVC Tournament action from 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 trail by five early on, but a trio of Redbird points capped off by a kill from freshman Caitlyn Little made it 11-9 as the 'Birds continued to fight back.
Missouri State would respond with four straight points of their own to build the lead back out to six (15-9) as the first set media timeout was called. Out of the timeout, the Bears built as big as an eight-point lead before scoring three of the final four set points to take set one, 25-16.
The second set saw Missouri State get off to a hot start, going up 5-0 before ILS scored their first point of the set. However, the Redbirds scored nine of the next 10 points to storm ahead by three and force a Bears timeout.
From there, the lead for ILS grew to as many as three before it was Missouri State tying the score at 13-13. The sides would go back-and-forth as neither side would lead more than two until Illinois State scored three of the final four set points this time, taking set two 25-22, capped off by a kill from freshman Ally Saleh.
Set three saw neither side lead by as many as three through the first 19 points of the set (11-8), as Missouri State held the slim lead. From there, the Bears built the lead out to as many as five on multiple occasions, before scoring four of the last six set points to take set three 25-18.
The fourth set on Sunday saw the Bears take 11 of the first 15 set points, holding an 11-to-4 lead before ILS responded once more. The 'Birds, after seeing a double-digit deficit, would rally back to trim the deficit to eight before closing the gap to only two (19-17) after trailing 16-6.
The 'Birds would eventually knot the score at 20 apiece before sophomore Aida Shadewald totaled her 19th kill of the night to give ILS a 21-20 lead. The match would go to extra points to decide a winner as the Bears rallied back, feeding off the home crowd, securing the win with a 27-25 set four victory.
Despite the hard-fought loss, one of many bright spots for the Redbirds in set four was graduate student Bella Zeman. After not seeing action in the first three sets of Sunday, Zeman tallied six kills in set four and was a pivotal part of the ILS' comeback.
The Redbirds conclude the season at 12-19 overall and 10-8 in the MVC while the Bears move onto Monday's quarterfinals to face No. 3 seed UIC at 6 p.m. CT.
SET SCORES
Illinois State falls to Missouri State (1-3): 16-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-27
ILLINOIS STATE STATS LEADERS
Kills:Â Aida Shadewald (20)
Digs:Â Mari Hinkle (23)
Assists:Â Emily Weber (42)
Service Aces:Â Emily Weber (2)
Total Blocks:Â Regan Haith (7)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Illinois State (.116) was outhit by Missouri State (.219)
- Sunday saw freshman Caitlyn Little collect her first career start, joining Kara Cooper, Emily Weber, Aida Shadewald, Cassie Jordan, Regan Haith, and Mari Hinkle in the Redbird starting lineup.
- Little tied a career high in kills on Sunday, finishing with 10 kills for the 'Birds against the Bears.
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