NORMAL, Ill. –The Illinois State volleyball team won its last three sets in a four-set battle with the UIC Flames on Senior Night inside CEFCU Arena, as three Redbirds had double-digit kills in the team's 14-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 win in the final home match of the regular season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set (14-25): ISU and UIC battled back and forth early, and the teams were tied at three before the

Flames started to extend their advantage, leading by as many as six at 12-6. The Flames kept their foot on the gas pedal, stretching their lead to its high mark of 11 at the close of the set.

Second Set (25-21): The teams traded runs to start the second set, with the Redbirds scoring the first two before UIC followed with the next three. UIC scored two of the next three points to lead 5-3 before Illinois State ran off seven in a row to stretch to a 10-5 lead. The Redbird advantage reached as many as seven, before the Flames chipped away at the deficit, closing to within as few as three in the 25-21 Redbird set victory.

Third Set (25-22): At the start of the third set, neither team could stretch out to a lead bigger than two, until the Flames stretched to a four-point, 16-12 advantage. Trailing by four, Illinois State answered with an immediate 5-0 run to flip the advantage, putting the Redbirds ahead by one at 17-16. After the teams traded points, the Flames ran off three consecutive points to pull ahead to a 21-19 lead. ISU answered by scoring six of the set's final seven points to secure the 25-22 third-set win

Fourth Set (25-20): UIC jumped ahead 4-1 early in the set, before ISU came back with four consecutive points to take a 5-4 lead. The Flames fought back to take a two-point, 11-9 lead; however, a UIC service error, and three consecutive Abby Reck service aces put the Redbirds back ahead at 13-11. ISU extended the lead to five at 17-12; however, UIC raced back behind a 3-0 run, cutting the deficit to two at 18-16. The Redbirds never trailed down the stretch, picking up the 25-20 fourth-set win.

KEY STATISTICS

• Illinois State opened with the lineup of 1 Ruth Ziegler, 2 Emilija Arsic, 9 Ella Craggs, 11 Jillian Gregory, 15 Addisyn Pohl, 16 Abby Reck, and libero 5 Sammi Bunch
• The match was the final home contest for seven Redbird student-athletes: Madison Smith, Sammi Bunch, Logan Grevengoed, Oliwia Caputa, Abby Reck, Peyton Turner, and Audrey Clark
• Illinois State improves to 18-7, 9-5 in the MVC, and 23-13 all-time against UIC
• The Redbirds had 11 service aces in the match, the seventh time this season that ISU has had double-digit service aces, the third-most double-digit ace matches in a season since 1994
• Emilija Arsic reached double-figure kills for the sixth time in her last seven matches, and the fourth consecutive, as she had 12 kills in the contest
• Jillian Gregory had 11 kills for ISU, her fourth consecutive match with double-figure kills, and her fifth in the last six matches
• Ruth Ziegler knocked down 10 kills for the Redbirds
• Ella Craggs – for the 25th time this season – reached double-figure assists, as she had 22 for the match
• For the third time in her last four matches, Peyton Turner reached double-figure digs, as she had 13 against the Flames
• Ella Kohnen dished out 18 assists for her 10th consecutive match with double-digit assists while narrowly missing a career-high with four service aces
• Abby Reck had six blocks – the second-most in a game in her career – while adding three service aces and a pair of kills.
• Jillian Ferrill narrowly missed double-digit kills with nine, and a career-high-tying three blocks

NEXT UP

The Redbirds go on the road for its final two matches of the 2026 regular season and will face off against the Murray State Racers in a 2 p.m. first serve, before traveling to Nashville to take on the Belmont Bruins in the 2026 regular season finale with a 1:30 p.m. first serve.