Illinois State Volleyball Split Matches with Southern Illinois, Belmont

Image courtesy of Illinois State athletics

NORMAL, Ill. — On Friday, Illinois State Volleyball traveled to Carbondale to take on Southern Illinois. The Redbirds finished with a .363 hitting percentage, the sixth time Illinois State has hit over .300 in a match this season.

To begin set one, the Salukis jumped to a quick 4-1 lead. Then the Redbirds bounced back, tying the match at six and then taking a  8-7 lead, their first lead of the match. Illinois State furthered their, jumping out to a 12-8 lead, forcing a Salukis timeout. Following the timeout, the Redbirds pushed ahead with a 4-0 scoring run, ending the set at 25-20 in favor of the Redbirds.

In set number two, Illinois State scored the first two points. Illinois State then went on a run which pushed the lead to 15-5. The Salukis got the ball back and ran off four consecutive points, before the Redbirds scored five of the last eight points to win the set at 25-17.

To open the third set, the Redbirds began with back to back kills from freshamn outside hitter Jillian Ferrill, However, Southern Illinois answered back with two consecutive kills to tie the score at two. when Illinois State got the ball back, they scored six of the next seven points, extending their lead to 8-3. Now leading 9-4, the Salukis’ scored three in a row narrowing the lead to two. The Redbirds answered back quickly going on a 4-0 scoring run which stretched the lead to 13-7. Late in the set, Southern Illinois went on a 4-0 scoring run, before the Redbirds closed it out, winning 25-16.

The win marks head coach Allie Matters 150th career at Illinois State. She is now 150-102 over her nine year coaching career.

Next, the Redbirds got ready to take on Belmont on Sunday.

In set one, Illinois State started off strong scoring three of the four points to begin the match. The Bruins then fought back to take a 7-6 lead. Belmont extended their lead to as many as five throughout the set. The Redbirds were unable to keep up as the Bruins remained in control, winning the opening set 25-19.

Belmont began with the ball in set two and jumped out to an early 3-1 lead. Once again, the Bruins never trailed in the set. Despite, Illinois State scoring within four at 13-9, Belmont won the set 25-20.

Moving into set three, the Redbirds found themselves in a bad position early, allowing Belmont to jump out to a 8-2 lead. Illinois State began to claw their way back, scoring three in a row to minimize the deficit to 8-5. The Bruins then went on an 8-1 run, extending their lead to 20-9, then winning the set 25-11.

Next up, the Redbirds will host Valparaiso on Oct. 30 at 6p.m.

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