EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Illinois State volleyball team (11-14, 6-6 MVC) opened the final leg of its four-match road swing with a five-set loss to Evansville (5-19, 4-8 MVC) on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois State falls to Evansville in five sets: 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 17-25, 7-15
Set 1
Evansville got on the board first as the sides remained close, as the Purple Aces held a slight 15-14 lead at the media timeout. The score remained tight down the stretch as the Redbirds called a timeout with the score tied 22-22. Out of the timeout, ISU kept the momentum rolling to score three of the final four set points for the 25-23 set one win. Overall, set one had 19 ties and nine lead changes.
Set 2
The teams traded points back-and-forth early in set two before Illinois State pulled ahead off a 3-0 run for a 13-10 lead as Evansville called timeout. Out of the break, the Redbirds pushed their lead to as many as five at 20-15. The Purple Aces tried their best to come back, but Illinois State never allowed Evansville to string together a run and staved off the comeback effort to win the set, 25-19.
Set 3
Set three began with Evansville taking early momentum before the Redbirds leveled the score at 7-7. ISU made Evansville burn both timeouts early on, including when the Purple Aces trailed 15-12. However, the Purple Aces stayed resilient down the stretch as the home team would take a late 19-17 lead and make the Birds call timeout. Out of the break, Evansville would close the set on a 5-0 run to take set three, 25-19, and force a fourth set.
Set 4
Evansville kept the set three momentum going into set four, building out an early 5-1 lead before ISU responded to trim the lead to two at 8-6. However, the Purple Aces remained motivated to force a decisive fifth set, holding a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. Evansville remained in firm control, pushing the lead to as many as eight at 20-12, before the Redbirds responded with a 5-1 run to trim the deficit to 21-17. However, Evansville closed set four with four straight points for the 25-17 win, forcing a decisive set five.
Set 5
The Redbirds and Purple Aces saw the fifth set start with Evansville leading early as the Purple Aces led 8-4 as the teams switched sides. The home team would hold onto the lead, closing the set and match with a 15-7 set five victory.
ILLINOIS STATE STATS LEADERS
Kills: Caitlyn Little (18)
Digs: Mekaila Aupiu (17)
Assists: Mekaila Aupiu (52)
Service Aces: Mekaila Aupiu (2)
Total Blocks: Maggie McCrary & Mekaila Aupiu (2)
ILLINOIS STATE NOTES
- Illinois State (.232) was outhit by Evansville (.287)
- Friday is the first five-set match between ILS and Evansville since 2019
-Â Illinois State moves to 54-8 all-time versus Evansville
UP NEXT
Illinois State concludes their road trip with a meeting against Indiana State at 5:00 p.m. CT Saturday night from Terre Haute, Indiana.
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