NORMAL, Ill. – A career-high 22 kills from Khenedi Guest, and three others with double-figure digs were not enough for the Illinois State volleyball squad, falling in five sets 27-29, 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, 11-15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set (27-29): In the first of two sets in the evening that couldn't be decided by the time the leading team reached 25 points, the teams traded the lead four times with 14 tie scores in the set. Tied at 27, the visiting Beacons got a block and a kill by Kelly Merk to secure the 29-27 Valpo win.
Second Set (21-25): With only two tie scores and two lead changes, the 25-21 score was one of the more lopsided sets in the tightly-contested match. The Redbirds led for most of the set, including by a 20-15 margin late in the frame; however, the Beacons ran off nine consecutive points, and ten of the final 11, to secure the four-point set win.
Third Set (26-24): Facing a two-set deficit, the Redbirds battled back in a third set that had eight ties and three lead changes. The Beacons led late in the set by a 22-21 score; however, the Redbirds fought back and tied the set at 24 apiece before ISU scored two straight on a kill from Guest and an attack error to force a fourth set in the match.
Fourth Set (25-21): The Redbirds found themselves trailing 17-14 towards the middle of the fourth set before the hosts ran off six consecutive points to lead 20-17. Valpo quickly fought back to tie the score at 20, until the Birds scored five of the final six points to force a deciding fifth set.
Fifth Set (11-15): Valpo jumped out in the deciding set 3-0; however, ISU battled back, tying the score at five. A 3-0 Beacon run pushed the visitors to a lead that they would not give up for the remainder of the set in the five-set marathon-match.
KEY STATISTICS
- ISU had two sets in the match that went above the previously-scheduled finish score, giving the Redbirds 13 such sets this season, the 10th-highest single-season total in school history with at least a dozen games to play
- Guest knocked down a career-high 22 kills in the loss, topping her previous career-high of 15 set during her freshman season against Indiana State
- With her attack percentage of .486, she has had a .400 or better hitting percentage in four of her last five matches
- She led the team in kills for the second time this season
- Caitlyn Little had her fourth consecutive double-digit kill match, knocking down a season-high 17 on a career-high 55 attempts
- Her 12 digs gave her a second consecutive double-double, and her fifth of the season
- Her dozen digs are also tied for a season-high, and one off her career-high of 13 (set five times previously)
- Aida Shadewald had a season-high 14 kills, while her 19 digs are also a new season-high
- The double-double is her third of the season, and second consecutive over the weekend
- Hannah Reichensperger finished a kill away from a season-high with 12 against the Beacons
- Her four blocks led the Redbirds for the fourth time this season, while her two solo blocks tied her season-high
- For the second consecutive match, Ella Craggs had a career-high assist total, giving out 55 in the five-set loss, topping her previous career-high of 42 set a night earlier
- She added 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the season
- Arianna Rossi had a team-best 30 digs – the second-highest total of her career, behind only the 39 she put up last Saturday at Bradley
- It was her 12th double-digit dig match of the season, and her fourth of 20 digs or more
- She led the team with two service aces, one away from her season-high
NEXT UP
ISU takes to the road next weekend, as the Redbirds travel south to take on the Belmont Bruins on October 10 and at Murray State the following day.
