Best Start Since 2010: Redbirds Sweep Western Michigan Tournament

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State volleyball returned to the court with a bang this weekend sweeping the Western Michigan tournament 3-0 a feat no redbird team has achieved in over 30 years.

The Birds were led by Aida Shadewald who claimed tournament MVP, alongside Ruth Ziegler, and Arianna Rossi who were named to the all-tournament team for their outstanding performance over the weekend.

ISU started the season off right with a dominant win over Depaul including a 10-point victory in the third set to cap off an excellent first game. Four Redbirds had at least six kills in the match with Aida Shadewald leading the way with her first double digit kill game of the season with 12. Setter Audrey Clark, a transfer from Creighton introduced her presence with authority racking up 16 assists in the opener.

On the defensive side of the opening match Hannah Reichensperger collected a team high five blocks. Reichensperger is fully healthy this season after missing much of last season recovering from a torn ACL.

In match two of the weekend the Birds played the host team Western Michigan and again swept their opponent but in a much closer match than the opener. Both sets one and three were won by the score of (26-24) and ISU’s defense was responsible for the team escaping with a win. Nobody exceeded seven kills in this match, but four players had at least 4 blocks in what was a real team effort.

Hannah Reichensperger led the way in this one and had a well-balanced outing with seven kills and four blocks. Once again, however Audrey Clark continued to impress in her first tournament as a redbird topping her previous mark from match one with 18 assists. Not to be outdone however was freshman setter Ella Craggs who picked up 14 assists on her card. Craggs grew up in Northville, Michigan, about an hour and a half away from Kalamazoo, and got to play her first tournament as a redbird in front of friends and family from back home.

The final match of the weekend saw the Redbirds take charge again sweeping Oakland University in three sets and finishing the tournament a perfect (3-0, 9-0 in sets). Aida Shadewald collected her second double digit kill performance of the weekend, and her first double-double on the year with 11 kills, and 14 digs in the match to cement her tournament MVP status. Once again Audrey Clark outdid herself with a staggering 21 assists in the final match totaling 55 on the weekend.

The Redbirds will travel next to Coralville, Iowa for a tournament hosted by the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and will see more tough competition including former MVC rival the Loyola Ramblers.

Despite the loss of defensive regular Sammi Bunch for the season to a torn ACL, this team came out and came away with their best start to a season since 2010 and are riding a wave of momentum this team hasn’t felt in a long time. With some new faces, and a core of incredibly talented veterans, this Illinois State team looks like a real contender in the MVC and is going to be one to watch this season.

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