ISU Volleyball Prevails at Home
Written by WZND Newsroom on September 3, 2022
NORMAL Ill.- Illinois State volleyball has prevailed against Green Bay in a 3-2 set.
Coming into the game the Redbirds had a 3-1 victory against Oral Roberts earlier in the day, with Kaitlyn Prondzinski posting a career-high 21 kills. Prondzinski continued that stellar performance into the Green Bay match with 17 kills.
Assists weren’t an issue for the Redbirds thanks to Katelyn Lefler, who earned 39 of the 61 assists in the match.
While the Redbirds performed well in the box score, discipline will have to improve if they hope to compete for another NCAA tournament appearance. During the five set match the redbirds had 32 errors, while Green Bay had 24.
Redbird history was made during the match, as Sarah Kushner became the 17th Redbird to earn 1,000 digs through her career.
“I feel like I never really care that much about stats about myself just because I’m just a team person but than when I’m actually thinking about it right now,” said Kushner. “Without sounding like cocky I’m really proud of myself just because I push myself every single practice that I’ve played here. I’m trying my hardest and working my hardest.”
With a young Redbird team and new coaching staff, mistakes are to be expected. However, the Redbirds have rolled with the punches up to this point, with their record sitting at 3-2 on the young season.
“So while we returning a lot of starters… I’m asking to do things they’re not used to,” said Matters. “We have two freshman on the floor that did some really, really freshman things today and then they did some things that I’m like wow you look like a senior out there.”
During match there were highs and lows for the Redbirds. This adversity faced by the Redbird lineup can help to build confidence in the locker room as the season progresses.
“We talk about this a lot but it’s hard to simulate those tight pressure situations in practice and Allie takes risks and she’s very competitive so she’s going to go with her gut and if she wants to push someone,” said Kushner. “Later down the road we’re going to be in a situation where we’re out of subs or they need to be able to do something if it’s going to be their first time.”
The Redbirds will look to build off of this impressive performance in their next contest at home against SEMO.
