NORMAL, Ill. – Behind a big attacking afternoon from Ruth Ziegler – who had a season-high-tying 13 kills while adding three service aces – the Illinois State volleyball squad swept past the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Sunday afternoon by scores of 25-19, 25-18, and 25-22.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set (25-19): In a first set full of scoring runs, Purdue Fort Wayne scored the first point of the match, and the Redbirds answered back with four in a row – including two Ruth Ziegler service aces – to take a 4-1 lead early in the match. After the Mastodons fought back to take a 9-7 lead, the Redbirds responded with six consecutive points to push back ahead by four at 13-9. The margin remained close before ISU closed the set by scoring three of the final four points to bring in a 25-19 victory.

Second Set (25-18): ISU never trailed in the second set, jumping ahead 3-1 through the first four points of the frame, and despite the Birds being unable to pull ahead to a lead larger than seven but the result was never in doubt in the 25-18 second-set win.

Third Set (25-22): The visitors from northeast Indiana jumped ahead early in the third set, leading by as many as four at 9-5, before the Redbirds rolled off five consecutive to push ahead to a 10-9 lead. The match was tied three more times before the Mastodons took the lead back at 15-14. With the match tied at 20-20, the Redbirds closed strong, scoring five of the last seven points to claim the sweep.

KEY STATISTICS

• Illinois State opened with the lineup of 1 Ruth Ziegler, 6 Logan Grevengoed, 9 Ella Craggs, 10 Oliwia Caputa, 16 Abby Reck, 17 Peyton Turner, and libero 5 Sammi Bunch
• Illinois State improves to 7-2 on the season
• The Redbirds now hold a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne, with the only previous meeting coming in 2013
• ISU hit .366 for the match, the fourth time this season that the Birds have hit over .300 in a match
• The Birds held Purdue Fort Wayne to an attack percentage of .158, the sixth time in nine matches that ISU has held an opponent below a .200 attack percentage
• Ruth Ziegler reached double-digit kills for the fourth time this season with a season-high-tying 13
  • She had an attack percentage of .522 behind her 13 kills, one error, and 23 attempts
  • She added three service aces and a block for 16.5 points on the match
  • Her three service aces are tied for her second-highest total of the season, as she has 22 aces in 30 sets on the season
• Oliwia Caputa narrowly missed a double-double with a season-high nine kills and 13 digs
• Ella Craggs also flirted with a double-double, dishing out a team-high 20 assists while picking up nine digs
• Sammi Bunch picked up 10 digs for her second consecutive match with double-figure digs, and the third in her last four matches
  • She gave out seven assists, a season-high
• Audrey Clark dished out 14 assists for ISU, while adding three digs

NEXT UP

ISU will travel to Michigan for the second time this season, and will compete in the Oakland Invitational, where the Redbirds will face off against Marist and Oakland over the two days