NORMAL, Ill. – In a series in which each of the previous three matches had gone five sets, it was no surprise that Illinois State and Valparaiso would play to a close match, with the Redbird emerging victorious in four sets (23-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-23).

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set (23-25): The teams started in an offensive battle, as the teams combined to side out on each of the first eight points of the match, before the Redbirds ended the streak to put the hosts ahead 5-4. The Beacons answered Illinois State's first lead of the game with a 4-0 run to put the visitors ahead 8-6. ISU kept chipping away at the Valpo lead, eventually tying the match at 21. The teams remained tied at 22; however, the Beacons scored three of the final four points to secure the 25-23 set victory. The teams hit a combined .917 for the first set, as the Redbirds had an attacking percentage of .417 and Valparaiso .500.

Second Set (25-19): The Redbirds jumped out quickly, scoring the first six points of the second set, including three on kills by Emilija Arsic. The Redbird lead grew to as many as eight at 10-2 before the Beacons started to close the deficit, climbing back to within four at 14-10 and again at 23-19. The Birds closed the door with a kill by Ruth Ziegler and a solo block by Ayla Klingenberg, securing the 25-19 second-set win.

Third Set (27-25): The Beacons opened the third set by scoring the first four points, before ISU came roaring back with three straight points, and seven of the next nine points to take a 7-6 lead. From there the largest lead either team could muster would be three points, as the Beacons and Redbirds went into extra points following a 25-25 tie before ISU got the final two points on a kill by Arsic and a Beacon attack error.

Fourth Set (25-23): There were 17 ties and eight lead changes in the back-and-forth, hotly-contested fourth set, with the first time either team led by more than two points was when ISU jumped out to a 22-18 lead, late in the frame. Valparaiso answered the four-point deficit with an immediate 5-1 run to tie the match score at 23. The Redbirds closed the door by using Arsic' 17th kill in the match, and a Valpo attack error to secure the 3-1 MVC win.

KEY STATISTICS

• Illinois State opened with the lineup of 1 Ruth Ziegler, 2 Emilija Arsic, 9 Ella Craggs, 10 Oliwia Caputa, 16 Abby Reck, 18 Ayla Klingenberg and libero 5 Sammi bunch
• Illinois State improves to 17-5 this season, 8-3 in the MVC, and 18-7 all-time against the Beacons
• ISU's win was just the second this season when the Redbirds' opponents had more kills and assists this season
• The Redbirds had four players with double-digit kills (Emilija Arsic, Jillian Gregory, Ruth Ziegler, and Jillian Ferrill) for the first time since October 11, 2025 against Murray State
• Emilija Arsic set a career-high with 17 kills, while adding eight digs, and hitting at a .310 percentage
  • The double-figure kill match was her third of the season, and the eighth of her collegiate career
  • She also tied a career-high with two service aces
  • She set a career-high with 42 attack attempts
• Jillian Gregory knocked down 13 kills, while adding a block and five digs
  • It was her fourth double-digit kill match of the season, and sixth of her career
• Ruth Ziegler had 11 kills for ISU, hitting .320 for the match
  • It was her sixth match this season with 20+ attempts while hitting over .300
• Jillian Ferrill had 10 kills for ISU, and tying her career-high with three blocks
  • She has eight double-digit kill matches this season
• Ayla Klingenberg had a season-high five blocks, while adding four kills
• Ella Craggs gave out 27 assists during the match, with seven digs
  • Her assist total was her second-highest total this season, behind only the 31 that she had in ISU's five-set win over Eastern Michigan in early September
• Ella Kohnen handed out 20 assists with eight digs
  • It was her second career match with 20+ assists
• Sammi Bunch had her 15th consecutive double-digit dig match this season, as she had 15 digs for the Redbirds
• Peyton Turner had 12 digs in the match – her second-highest single-match total this season, and her fifth double-digit dig match this year

NEXT UP

The Redbirds host the Southern Illinois Salukis in a Halloween Night match-up, with a 7 p.m. first serve inside CEFCU Arena.