ROCHESTER, Mich. – Behind a strong hitting effort from the Illinois State trio of Oliwia Caputa, Jillian Ferrill, and Jillian Gregory, the Illinois State volleyball team improved to 8-2 on the season with a three-set sweep of the Marist Red Wolves on Saturday afternoon by scores of 25-17, 25-19, 25-22. The Redbirds have won their last eight games inside the state of Michigan, with the last loss in the Mitten State coming during the 2009 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set (25-17): The Redbirds scored on their first three swings of the afternoon, jumping out to a 3-1 lead, and used a mid-set 6-0 scoring run to stretch the lead to 12-4. The ISU advantage reached as large as nine points at 21-12, before the Red Foxes fought back to close the gap at eight at the completion of the opening frame.

Second Set (25-19): The second set started as a back-and-forth battle, where the first two-point lead came after Marist jumped ahead 8-6 in the early portion of the set. ISU responded by scoring five of the next six points, to turn the two-point deficit into a two-point advantage. Leading 16-14, the Redbirds scored four consecutive points, sprinting at the end to a 25-19 second-set win.

Third Set (25-22): After starting with a tight battle, a 4-0 Illinois State run turned a one-point, 9-8 deficit into a 12-9 Redbird advantage. Marist fought back to take a narrow 18-16 lead just past the midway point of the set, and the Birds answered with four in a row, forcing a Marist timeout at 20-18. The Red Foxes regrouped out of the timeout by scoring two in a row, tying the game again at 20. ISU closed strong, scoring five of the final seven points to secure the 25-22 set win, the Redbirds' seventh win by a sweep this season.

KEY STATISTICS

• Illinois State opened with the lineup of 6 Logan Grevengoed, 9 Ella Craggs, 10 Oliwia Caputa, 14 Jillian Ferrill, 16 Abby Reck, 17 Peyton Turner, and libero 5 Sammi Bunch
• Illinois State improves to 8-2 on the season
  • ISU's 8-2 start is the first time that the Redbirds have eight wins in their first 10 games since the 2018 team also started 8-2
• ISU has won its last eight games inside the state of Michigan, with the last loss coming during the 2009 season
• With today's win, Illinois State has a 1-0 record in the all-time series with Marist
• With ISU's match tomorrow against Oakland, it will be the program's fifth game inside the state of Michigan
  • That is the second-most games inside Michigan in a season in program history, as only the 1974 and 1976 teams had more games inside the Mitten State (six games each)
• Illinois State had a team attack percentage of .330, the teams' fifth match this season hitting over .300
• The Redbird defense held the Red Foxes to an attack percentage of .194, the seventh time in ten matches that the Birds have held their opponent to an attack percentage of .200 or lower
• Jillian Ferrill had 13 kills for the Redbirds, the third time in her career that she has had double-digit kills in a match
  • Her last double-digit kill effort also came in her home state of Michigan, as she had a career-high 18 at Central Michigan on September 4
  • Her two blocks in the match represent a career high
• Oliwia Caputa knocked down a season-high 13 kills – her first double-digit kill match of the season – as she also had six digs in the match
• Jillian Gregory knocked down a season-high 10 kills for the Redbirds, hitting .450 in the match (10 kills, 1 error, 20 attempts)
• The win against Marist is the second time this season that Illinois State has had three players with double-digit kills in the same match
• Sammi Bunch had her fourth double-digit kill match of the season – and third in a row – as she had 13 in the win for the Birds
  • Bunch served up a trio of service aces, a season-high, which also tied her career best
• Playing against former High School teammate Mallory Reck, Ella Craggs dished out a team-high 26 assists, while also picking up five digs
• With seven service aces against five service errors, it is the second match this season that Illinois State has had a positive margin
• Audrey Clark gave out 15 assists, with six digs and two service aces

NEXT UP

The Redbirds remain in Michigan for the Oakland Volleyball Invitational Final when ISU faces off against tournament host Oakland on Sunday afternoon.