Redbird volleyball earns record-setting win

Posted on September 10, 2016
ISU Volleyball celebration
(Photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

By WJBC Staff

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Illinois State volleyball team registered two new entries in the team’s record book in its straight-sets win over Tennessee Tech Saturday at Middle Tennessee’s Blue Raider Bash at Alumni Memorial Gym.

Illinois State turned in a .536 team attacking percentage, the second-best single-match mark in program history, trailing only the 2004 team’s .542 mark against South Florida on Sept. 11, 2004. And with 10 kills on 13 attempts in Saturday’s match, Ali Line finished with a .769 individual hitting percentage, tied for the ninth-best individual single-match mark.

Line was one of three Redbirds to post double-digit kills, as Aly Dawson and Ella Francis collected 11 each. Jaelyn Keene was right behind with nine kills on just 10 attempts.

Jacqueline Twing dished out a match-high 42 assists, while Courtney Pence tallied 19 digs in the three-set match.

“We had great offensive efficiency in this match,” said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. “Courtney was all over the court and gave us a lot of good options to run our offense. Jac did a nice job getting Ali and Jaelyn the ball early, which really gave our pin hitters some good looks at the court.”

A close first set was blown open by Illinois State with a 10-0 rally that stretched a 7-6 lead to 17-6. Dawson tallied six of her kills in the first set and the Redbirds finished it with a kill from Francis.

The Redbirds carried momentum into the second set. After grabbing an early 5-1 lead, the Redbirds pulled away with a 12-2 run. Illinois State finished off the set with a kill from Keene, who was a perfect 7-for-7 on attack attempts up to that point in the match.

Big runs continued to rule the day in the third set, as a 9-1 binge helped the Redbirds break a 4-4 tie early. Illinois State then finished the match with six-straight points to complete the sweep.

The Redbirds return to action next weekend at the UNI Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Illinois State will play their first Missouri Valley Conference match of the season at the tournament, when the Redbirds take on Northern Iowa on Friday. Links for live video, audio and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates.

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