Illinois State Volleyball Split Matches Against Bradley, UIC

Image courtesy of Illinois State athletics

NORMAl Ill. — Illinois State volleyball split its matches on the road against Bradley and at home against UIC on senior night.

On Tuesday, the Redbirds traveled to Peoria to take on the Braves. In set one, each team went on their own 2-0 run with the teams tied at four. With Illinois State down 8-5 in the set, the Redbirds fought back to bring it within one point. The Braves got the ball back and scored five in a row to stretch their lead 13-7. Illinois State was unable to come back as Bradley pulled away, winning the set 25-13.

Starting set two, the Braves ran off three early points, however, the Redbirds quickly answered with a 3-0 run. With the set tied at six, the hosts scored four in a row to extend their lead to 10-6. Illinois State brought the match to within three, at 12-9 and again at 16-13. Despite being closing the gap, the Redbirds were unable to take the lead as Bradley won the set 25-20.

Illinois State took a reset after the two set break and came into the third set fighting hard to take a 10-6 lead. The Redbirds extended their that lead at 14-8. The Redbirds didn’t allow Bradley to come back and won set three 25-15.

In the fourth set, Illinois State kept the pressure on Bradley from the last set by taking an early 3-1 lead. The Braves began to fight back with a run off of five consecutive points to take a 6-3 lead. With Illinois State now trailing by 10 at 18-8, the Redbirds started to claw their way back by closing the gap after going on a 4-0 run. The Redbirds continued to claw at the scoring gap and came within three at 23-20. Each team tied the set at 24 however the Braves scored the final two points ending this intense set at 26-24.

Despite the disappointing loss against the I-74 rivals, three Redbirds had double digit kills in the match. Notably absent in the match was Oliwia Caputa, who was spotted wearing a walking boot before the game.

On Friday night, Illinois State hosted UIC on Senior Night. To begin set one, The Redbirds and Flames went back and forth early. The Flames got the ball back and started to extend their lead by as many as six at 12-6. UIC didn’t hold back once after that stretching the lead at 11 to close the set 25-14.

To begin set two, each team traded runs with the Redbirds scoring the first two points. Shortly after UIC earned the next three points. The Flames extended their momentum, scoring two of the next three to lead 5-3. However, Illinois State then began a 7-0 scoring run. With the Redbirds having a 10-5 lead, the team was able to keep it going to stretch the lead to as much as seven. UIC began to fight back at the deficit closing the gap to within three. Illinois State held off the Flames winning the second set 25-21.

Early in set three, neither team was able to stretch a lead bigger than two. That was until the Flames took a four point advantage \ at 16-12. Down four, the Redbirds answered with a 5-0 run to take the lead at 17-16. After the teams once again traded points, UIC earned three consecutive points to pull ahead at 21-19. Illinois State again answered, scoring six of the final seven points to lock in a third set win at 25-22.

With the Redbirds leading two sets to one entering set four, the Flames jumped ahead 4-1. Illinois State came back with consecutive points to take a 5-4 lead. UIC was able to fight back to take a two point lead at 11-9. With the next play being a service error from the Flames, the Redbirds took advantage with three consecutive service aces from senior Abby Reck. With Illinois State ahead 13-11, the Redbirds extended the lead to five at 17-12. UIC later went on a  3-0 run to cut the deficit to tw0. Illinois State didn’t allow any more points from UIC and won’t he fourth set 25-20.

Highlights of the match were three Redbirds earning double digit kills, coming from sophomore Emilija Arsic with 12, sophomore Jillian Gregory with 11, and junior Ruth Ziegler. Ella Craggs reached double figure assists for the 25th time this season. Not only did Abby Reck record three services aces, but the senior recorded six blocks , the second most in a game in her career. Following the win, the Redbirds celebrated their seven seniors in an emotional ceremony.

Illinois State will now travel to Kentucky to take on Murray State on Friday at 2 p.m.

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