CARBONDALE, Ill. – A balanced and strong Redbird attack that saw ISU hit .363 in the match helped lead the Birds to a sweep of Southern Illinois on Friday evening, topping the Salukis 25-20, 25-17, 25-16. The attack percentage was the sixth time this season that ISU has hit over .300 in a match, while holding the Salukis to a .095 attack percentage, the fourth time that the team has held their opponent to an attack percentage below .100.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set (25-20): The host Salukis jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the match before the Redbirds started charging back, tying the match at six and taking their first lead at 8-7. ISU kept the pressure, pushing ahead to a 12-8 advantage, forcing a SIU timeout. The Redbirds pulled away with a pair of 4-0 runs, sprinting away for the 25-20 opening-set win.

Second Set (25-17): The second set opened with ISU scoring the first two points of the frame. Southern Illinois pushed back; however, the Redbirds went on a run, extending to a 15-5 lead near the midway point of the second set. With ISU leading 20-10, SIU ran off four consecutive points; however, the Redbirds scored five of the last eight points of the set, to win the middle set 25-17.

Third Set (25-16): Back-to-back powerful kills from Jillian Ferrill opened the second set, before the hosts answered with two in a row to tie the score at two. The visitors followed by scoring six of the next seven points, extending to an 8-3 lead. Leading 9-4, SIU scored three in a row to close the gap to two at 9-7; however, the Redbirds answered immediately with a 4-0 run to stretch the lead to six at 13-7. ISU extended to a 21-11 lead, before settling on the final score of 25-16, despite a 4-0 Southern Illinois run late in the frame.

KEY STATISTICS

• Illinois State opened with the lineup of 3 Ella Kohnen, 10 Oliwia Caputa, 11 Jillian Gregory, 14 Jillian Ferrill, 16 Abby Reck, 18 Ayla Klingenberg and libero 5 Sammi Bunch
  • The match is the first career start for freshman setter Kohnen
• Illinois State improves to 16-4 this season, 7-2 in the MVC, and 85-15 all-time against the Salukis
  • ISU has 16 wins in its first 20 matches for the first time since the 1998 team also opened 16-4
  • The Redbirds have a trio of 5-0 runs this year, the first time since 1992 that an Illinois State volleyball team has had three separate 5-0 runs, and just the fifth time in program history that a team has won five matches in a row three times
• The win was the 150th in the career for head coach Allie Matters, who is now 150-102 over her nine-year head coaching career
• ISU's attack percentage of .363 is the team's highest since September 13 against Purdue Fort Wayne, and the sixth time this season that the Redbirds have hit over .300
• The Redbirds held Southern Illinois to an attack percentage of .083, the third-lowest total this season, and the 15th allowing an attack percentage under .200, including six in their last seven matches
• Jillian Gregory had 13 kills for the Redbirds, hitting .478 during the match (needing just 23 attempts, against just 2 errors)
• Both Ella Craggs (13), and Ella Kohnen (12) had double-digit assists for the Redbirds, while Craggs and Kohnen each added nine digs
• Sammi Bunch had double-digit digs for the 13th consecutive match, as she had 10 to go with eight assists
• Jillian Ferrill kept her hot-hitting streak, as she had nine kills while hitting .500 (16 attempts, one error), her fourth consecutive match hitting over .400

NEXT UP

Illinois State opens a stretch of four home matches in the next five contests, the first of those on Sunday, October 25 with a 1 p.m. first serve against Belmont inside CEFCU Arena.