Illinois State Splits Final Day of Linda Herman Volleyball Classic

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State volleyball team split day two of the Linda Herman Volleyball Classic on Saturday, picking up their first win of 2024 in four sets over Bellarmine before dropping a five-set match to Lindenwood at CEFCU Arena.

Junior Colleen Hege had 33 digs over the two matches to lead the Redbirds defense (1-2), highlighted by 15 digs versus Bellarmine (0-3) before recording 18 digs versus Lindenwood (2-1).

LINDA HERMAN VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

- Central Michigan

        - MVP Natalia Rejment

        - Maddie Gebhardt

        - Hannah Langton

- Lindenwood

        - Rebecca Janke

        - Allie Otten

- Illinois State

        - Aida Shadewald

- Bellarmine

        - Maddie Hagen

SET SCORES (vs Bellarmine)

Illinois State defeats Bellarmine (3-1): 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 28-26

ILLINOIS STATE STATS LEADERS (vs Bellarmine)

Kills: Aida Shadewald (19)

Digs: Mekaila Aupiu/Colleen Hege (15)

Assists: Mekaila Aupiu (43)

Service Aces: Mekaila Aupiu (3)

Total Blocks: Khenedi Guest (5)

ILLINOIS STATE NOTES (vs Bellarmine)

- Illinois State (.264) outhit Bellarmine (.226)

- Senior Mekaila Aupiu matched her career high with three service aces

- Four Redbirds hit .330 or better (Khenedi Guest, Ruth Ziegler, Aupiu, and Maggie McCrary)

- Junior Aida Shadewald finished with a match-high 19 kills, one away from tying her four-set career high of 20.

SET SCORES (vs Lindenwood)

Illinois State falls to Lindenwood (2-3): 25-14, 22-26, 15-25, 25-16, 11-15

ILLINOIS STATE STATS LEADERS (vs Lindenwood)

Kills: Caitlyn Little (12)

Digs: Colleen Hege (18)

Assists: Mekaila Aupiu (36)

Service Aces: Three athletes (2)

Total Blocks: Three athletes (4)

ILLINOIS STATE NOTES (vs Lindenwood)

- Illinois State (.164) outhit Lindenwood (.152)

- Sophomore Caitlyn Little set new five-set career high in kills (12)

- Junior Colleen Hege set a new career high in digs (18)

- Junior Sammi Bunch set a new career high in service aces (2)

UP NEXT

Illinois State is scheduled to remain in-state as the Redbirds travel to Champaign on Tuesday to face Illinois with a first serve of 7:00 p.m. CT Tuesday evening.

For all the latest on Illinois State volleyball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

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