EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Illinois State Redbirds dominated at the end of the second and third sets, as the Redbirds picked up a four-set win over the Evansville Aces (24-26, 25-12, 25-16, 25-23). Three players reached career milestones in the contest, as Ella Craggs recorded her 1,000th career assist, while Ruth Ziegler and Logan Grevengoed each recorded their 500th career kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set (24-26): Evansville jumped out quickly jumping out to a quick three-point, 6-3 lead, and extended that lead to as many as five at 19-14. The Redbirds started chipping away at the deficit, running a 7-1 run to push the Redbirds to a 21-20 lead, the first lead for the Birds since ISU took a 2-1 lead in the early stages of the contest. Evansville fought back to tie the score at 23 and 24, before the hosts scored the final two points of the frame to win the opener 26-24. The score is just the third time this season that ISU or their opponent has needed more than 25 points to win a set.

Second Set (25-12): With the teams tied at three early in the second set, Illinois State ran off five consecutive points to stretch to an 8-3 lead. Leading 14-12, the Redbirds ran off 11 consecutive points to close the set, as Sammi Bunch had four service aces and Grevengoed three kills during the set-ending run.

Third Set (25-16): The teams went back and forth early, and with Evansville leading by one at 8-7, the Aces ran off two consecutive to take a three-point lead, the hosts' largest lead of the set. The Redbirds answered immediately back with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 10. After the Aces extended to a 13-11 lead, ISU came back with 11 consecutive points – the Birds' second double-digit run of the match – to push ahead 22-13, cruising to the 25-16 set victory.

Fourth Set (25-23): After an even start, Illinois State scored three consecutive points to stretch a 6-5 lead to 9-5. Illinois State's lead grew to as many as six points; however, Evansville would not go away in the fourth and deciding set, using a 4-0 run to close the gap to one at 20-19. The Redbirds held onto the narrowest of margins at 24-23 late in the match; however, Jillian Gregory ended the contest with her sixth kill of the contest.

KEY STATISTICS

• Illinois State opened with the lineup of 1 Ruth Ziegler, 9 Ella Craggs, 10 Oliwia Caputa, 11 Jillian Gregory, 16 Abby Reck, 18 Ayla Klingenberg, and libero 5 Sammi Bunch
• Illinois State goes to 14-4 this season, 5-2 in the MVC, and 56-8 all-time against the Aces
• Over the last three matches, the Redbirds have dominated the second set, 25-8 against Bradley, 25-10 against Indiana State, and now 25-12 at Evansville
• For the sixth time this season, Illinois State had 10 or more aces in a match, as they tied the team season-high with 12 against the Purple Aces, while Evansville's 17 service errors are a new season high for an ISU opponent, and the most in a match since Mercer had 19 against the Redbirds on September 21, 2024
  • The match is the third time this season that the Redbirds had a positive serving ratio (serving aces vs service errors), with 12 aces and eight errors, as the +4 margin is tied for the highest this season, along with a +4 (11-kill, seven-error) effort on September 4 at Central Michigan
  • The 12 aces are tied for the most in a match since the Birds had 16 against Little Rock on September 6, 2019
  • The six matches with double-digit service aces this season are the most by a Redbird squad since the 2007 team had eight double-digit aces contests – however, they did not have more than 11 in a match that season
• With her 10th assist of the contest, Ella Craggs recorded her 1,000th career assist, as the sophomore ended with 22 for the match, her 17th consecutive game with double-figure assists
• Reigning MVC Libero of the Week Sammi Bunch had 21 digs, her 11th consecutive match with double-digit digs, while serving up four aces, one off her career-high set earlier this month when she had five against Drake
  • By reaching the 20-dig plateau, she has four consecutive 20+ dig matches, and seven total this season
• Emilija Arsic had 11 kills for the Redbirds, a season-high, while hitting at a .625 percentage
• Ella Kohnen gave out 19 assists, the second-highest total of her young career, and the fifth time she has had double-digit assists in a match
• Behind her eight kills, Logan Grevengoed now has 504 career kills in her career as a middle blocker
• Ruth Ziegler now has 502 career kills after her four against the Purple Aces
• Abby Reck, who also had eight kills, has 498 for her career, as she nearly became the fourth different Redbird to reach a career milestone
• Jillian Ferrill had eight kills in the win

NEXT UP

The Redbirds continue their road swing and will make the short trek inside of the Hoosier State and will face off on Saturday afternoon with a 6 p.m. first serve at Indiana State.