NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State senior Sammi Bunch recorded her 1,000th career dig in the first set, as the Redbirds chopped down the Indiana State Sycamores in four sets by scores of 25-20, 25-10, 18-25, 25-23.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set (25-20): Trailing 2-1, Illinois State ran off three consecutive points to take a 4-2 lead. The Birds would not trail again until the Trees ran off a 4-1 run to push ahead 11-10. From there Illinois State pushed ahead, using a 10-3 run, including a 4-0 run to give the Redbirds a 20-14 advantage, holding on for the five-point opening-set win.
Second Set (25-10): For the second consecutive match, the Redbirds dominated in the second set, as Illinois State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set and never trailed in the frame. The Redbird lead grew to as large as 16 at 23-8 behind an 8-0 scoring run, settling on the final set score of 25-10 at the end of the second period, the second consecutive match holding their opponent to 10 or fewer points in the second frame.
Third Set (18-25): Indiana State recovered in the break between the second and third sets, jumping out to a 9-4 lead to start the third set. Despite trailing early, the Redbirds climbed back, closing to within one point at 12-11; however, the visitors followed with an 8-1 run, pushing ahead by eight points – the Sycamores' largest lead of the match – at 18-12. Illinois State kept chipping away at the deficit but could not overcome the seven-point set loss.
Fourth Set (25-23): After seeing their 18-set win streak against the Sycamores snapped in the third set, ISU jumped out to a 9-3 lead and never trailed again in the deciding set. The Redbirds grew the lead to as many as 10 points at 20-10; however, Indiana State kept the fight, closing to within as few as one point at 22-21. The Redbirds had enough in the tank; however, to stretch back out, taking the fourth set by a 25-23 score.
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 13-4 this season, 4-2 in the MVC, and 75-10 all-time against the Sycamores
- The win is the ninth straight for the Redbirds in the series with the Indiana State
- Illinois State held the Sycamores to an attack percentage of .167, the 13th time this season – and fourth straight – that the Redbird defense has held an opponent below an attack percentage of .200
- With her second dig of the match – on the final point of the first set – Illinois State senior Sammi Bunch eclipsed the 1,000-career dig mark for her collegiate career
- She ended with 23 digs in the contest, her 10th consecutive match with double-digit digs, and her third consecutive with 20 or more
- Jillian Ferrill had a career-high three blocks in the contest, while adding 15 kills, her sixth match this season with double-digit kills
- The effort was the fifth time this season that the freshman has led the Redbirds in kills for a match
- Ruth Ziegler had 11 kills, giving her 498 for her career as she is approaching the 500-kill milestone
- It was her seventh double-digit kill match of the season, and her second in her last three matches
- Ella Kohnen recorded a career-high 23 assists, while serving up a career-high-tying two aces and picking up seven digs
- Ella Craggs had 21 assists for the Redbirds, her ninth match this season with 20+ assists
- The match was the first this season where Illinois State had two players with 20+ assists in the same match
- Peyton Turner had 11 digs, the third time this season that she has had double-digit digs in a contest
NEXT UP
After having the rest of the weekend without a match, ISU travels to Evansville, Indiana, on October 16 to face off against the Aces starting at 6 p.m.
