Redbirds Take Down the Evansville Aces in Three Sets

Image courtesy of goredbirds.com

Normal, IL. – The Redbirds came into tonight’s matchup with a 7-game winning streak and kept it alive with a win over the Evansville Aces.  

Illinois State led most of the first set with only one lead change. The Redbirds went on three scoring runs of 4 or more points. Tamara Otene led the team in the first set with 6 kills and 2 blocks.  

The Redbirds came out strong, winning the first set 25-13. Head coach Leah Johnson talked about the importance of that in a postgame interview.

“From my perspective as a coach it gives me a little breathing room to go into strategy.” 

ISU led early in the second set with a score of 9-4 but the Ace’s Melanie Feliciano changed the momentum of the set with her serving and went on a 4-0 scoring run.  

The Aces came back and tied the game up at 16 points. The remainder of the set was close and ended up in a deuce. Illinois State ended the set with a final score of 24-26.  

The Birds went into the third set with confidence establishing an early 6-0 lead. 

Evansville seemed to be low on energy in the third set and ISU wrapped it up easily with a 25-10 win.

The Redbirds were in the driver seat all night. Leading the team tonight was Tamara Otene with 13 kills, Nichole Lund with 7 blocks, and Kaity Weimerskirtch with 11 digs.  

After the conclusion of tonight’s game head coach Leah Johnson celebrated her 100th win. 

“You work really hard and you worry about the next win over, over and over again and the next thing you know there is a milestone in your career. It’s about the next match over and over.” 

The Redbirds look to continue their 8-game winning streak against a 13-10 Indiana State team tomorrow night.