Redbirds take down Drake 3-1

Posted on November 1, 2015

AshleyRoschBy ISU Sports Information

DES MOINES- Ashley Rosch led a trio of Redbirds with 15 or more kills as Illinois State scored a 3-1 win over host Drake Saturday night at the Knapp Center. Illinois State won by scores of 25-15, 25-9, 20-25, 25-18.

Rosch tallied a match-high 19 kills, while Jaelyn Keene and Aly Dawson added 15 and 16 kills, respectively. Jordan Weatherless matched her career high with 44 assists and Courtney Pence collected a match-high 24 digs.

Keene was highly efficient on her attacks Saturday, posting a .667 hitting percentage with 15 kills on 21 attempts, with just one error. Rosch and Dawson posted double-doubles, as each complemented their kill count with double-digit digs; Rosch had 17 digs, while Dawson added 14.

“This was a good road win for us against a Drake team that has been steadily improving,” said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. “Our defense was strong tonight and gave our offense a lot of good opportunities to score.”

Drake (14-16, 5-8 MVC) scored the first three points of the first set, but Illinois State rattled off the next seven points to force a Drake timeout. Keene tallied five kills in the set and Dawson finished it off with a kill to give the Redbirds an early advantage in the match.

Illinois State (18-8, 8-6) scored the first four points, and seven of the first eight, to open the second set. Drake never seriously threatened the Redbird lead, and Illinois State went into the break with a 2-0 lead thanks to its largest winning margin in any set this season.

Drake bounced back in the third set, however, building a sizable lead early on. The Bulldogs got to a set point at 24-17, and Illinois State fought off three-straight set points, but the hosts claimed the set with a kill from Makena Schoene.

Illinois State used a five-point run early in the fourth set to take control and never trailed in the set. The Redbirds finished off the match with Rosch’s 19th kill of the match.

The Redbirds return to action next weekend with a pair of matches at Redbird Arena. Illinois State will host Bradley on Friday and Loyola on Saturday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts. Tickets can be purchased through the Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office, by calling (309) 438-8000 or by going online at GoRedbirds.com.

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